The Very Uneventful Journey
by SerendipityDoodle
Summary: Al's journey to get his first pokémon. Featuring: waterfalls, thunderstorms and collapsed buildings; mischief, mayhem and courage; adventure, humour and OMGWTFBBQ! And Ed.
1. Splash

**The Very Uneventful Journey**

_Warnings: Language. This is Ed we're dealing with, after all. But not that much.  
_

_Disclaimer: I don't own FMA or any of the pokémon mentioned. I wrote this because I thought it would be fun; nothing more, nothing less._

_Side note: Generally, the only pokémon I'll be mentioning are from Kanto/Johto or, possibly, Sinnoh, because they're the ones I know the best and grew up with. If you don't know any pokémon mentioned, just type it into Google or something, or go to Bulbapedia. That's the best resource you'll get.  
_

_

* * *

_**Prologue**_  
_

In a mystical land far away, beyond the reaches of our time and space, strange and wondrous creatures appeared. Over time they have collected many names, but for now we simply know them as _pokémon. _Infinite tales have been passed down, featuring extroadinary events that humans and pokémon have shared together.

I assume you've heard of Ash Ketchum? He is a prime example.

Over time, humans and pokémon have learned to live in harmony, and it is to this state that you, young reader, now find yourself. I hope you are not too disappointed that, instead of following Ash Ketchum, we will instead be following another boy. Well, I suppose I should say 'boys', for it will be a long time before you see one without the other.

The journey to become a pokémon trainer is tough. The Elric brothers knew that, of course, but they never really understood it until it became time for the youngest, Alphonse, to get his first pokémon. Of course, this was all because of his brother's bad luck, but Alphonse is too kind to acknowledge that fact.

So sit back, drink a cup of tea and relax as we delve into Alphonse's first mountain in becoming a pokémon trainer. Then again, this mountain has quite a good ending so perhaps, it is a molehill instead.

Then again, considering the journey, perhaps not.

* * *

**Day One**

---

**The Rockbell Residence  
Resembool  
05:34 AM**

Dawn's first rays crept in through the mismatched curtains, illuminating the bedroom with ruby rays. Like all rooms belonging to teenagers, the floor could hardly be seen beneath the clothes, magazines and food wrappers. And books, of course; mountains of books, some piled up on the rickety desk, neat and tidy, and others opened with bent pages, hazardously thrown and abandoned in the pursuit of knowledge. There were no bookcases for, with the two beds as well, there was no room - but that was why the books spilled out into the hallway.

One of the room's occupants lay sleeping, his chest rising and falling despite how hard breathing had to be with a pillow crammed over his face. Near the foot of the sleeping male lay a Quilava, also sleeping deeply. The other bed lay empty, covers thrown back, and had been cold for a long time.

"Brother!" the tranquility broke with the door slamming against the wall. The sleeping teenager jerked awake with a snort and proceeded to choke on his pillow. The intruder ignored the distress, nimbly making his way across the room and grabbing hold of the lone foot sticking out the mattress. "The sun's up like we agreed so rise and shine! Come _on _Ed, you're so slow!" he tugged on the foot.

"Damn it Al I'd just got to sleep!" Ed exclaimed once he'd survived the pillow's attempt to off him. He recaptured his foot and rubbed his eyes before glancing at the clock. "This time exists...?"

"Winry and Granny are getting breakfast ready," Al chirped, bouncing from one foot to the other, "so the quicker you're up the quicker we eat and the quicker we leave!" he ran out the room and Ed waited. A moment later he heard a thump, a crash and a muffled, "I'm okay..." and sighed, flopping back on the bed. His blonde hair sprawled over the mattress.

Morning people _sucked_.

It sucked worse that he couldn't even blame Al this time, considering the big day ahead of them.

"Guess we better get up then, you coming?" he nudged his pokémon. The look he recieved made him regret asking. "Okay..." he shook his head and slid out of bed, shivering from the cold morning air. He tugged the Charmander-patterned sleeves over his hands before picking up the nearest clothing and darting barefoot across the hall to the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later, he stomped down the stairs to the kitchen with a towel slung over his shoulders to catch the remaining drops of water from his hair. Keeping it as thick and long as he did meant it took a long time to dry, albeit time he willingly put up with.

Looking good took effort, after all.

"Morning Ed," Winry Rockbell smiled from her position by the sink. Her front had a few soapy splatters from the washing up, but she looked cheerful despite the early hour. Ed pulled a face and sat down at the closest free seat, wondering how the hell he'd managed to end up with so many morning people. "You look tired. Have trouble sleeping last night?"

Ed shot his brother a dark look, causing the boy to cram a piece of toast in his mouth and blink back innocently, his cheeks bulging like a Jigglypuff's.

"I wonder why," he grumbled, grabbing the last pancake and the three essentials for eating one. "Maybe because _someone_," he squirted the lemon juice, "thought it would be _fun_," he squeezed the golden syrup, "to keep me up _all night_," he tipped the spoonful of sugar, "_whining_." He stabbed the mess with a fork, ignoring the incredulous looks with practised ease.

"I was not whining!" Al protested while Winry sighed and dried her hands.

"Which explains why I tripped over him in the hall," she poured a glass of milk, "you know better than to kick him out Edward!"

Ed scowled, "He deserved it." He devoured the messy treat before she could shoot anymore questions at him. Not fooled in the slightest, Winry rolled her eyes and dropped the glass in front of him with a thunk before turning to Al, missing the way Ed stiffened and inched back.

"Are you still undecided?" she gave the younger a sympathetic look. Al's shoulders slumped.

"I don't know which would be best!" he stared mournfully at the table, looking like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. "Chikorita's a good choice because it has powerful attacks and can do damage with status affects, but if Brother and I are gonna be the best tag-team then Totodile's the best choice because he's complimentary to Brother's!" he looked back at Winry. "But, Cyndaquil's really cute!"

Before Winry could work out an answer to Al's pleading, the door creaked open. A small woman with greying hair poked her head in, bringing with her a whiff of tobacco.

"Granny!" Ed ignored Winry's surprise and the other's entrance, too busy with his self-appointed job. Granny Pinako smiled.

"I wouldn't worry Al," she peered up through thin-rimmed glasses. "I'm sure you'll know when you see it. You always make the right choice in the end," Al brightened. Pinako's smile turned wicked as she looked to her granddaughter. "You, on the other hand, should be more observant."

"Huh?" Winry blinked. Granny Pinako pointed to where Ed had just finished tipping the milk down the sink. "ED!" Winry snarled, eyes flashing. The boy stiffened.

"What?! Why can't you see that something that comes out a pokemon's not meant for drinking?!" he spun around, arms crossed over his chest in defiance.

Winry stalked over to him and drew herself up to full height, revealing the two inch gap in height, "And _that _is why you're so short!" she snapped, unaffected by the way Ed swelled and let loose a series of swear words. "Maybe if you drank some for once in your life instead of acting like a child-"

"I'm not acting like a child!"

"Well you're not acting like a mature adult! It's like you're-" Before they could start one of their infamous fights Al slipped in-between them, hands held up in surrender.

"Don't start this again, not today. Please?" Ed avoided his brother's pleading gaze, but just hearing caused his annoyance to wither away. He sighed, nodded and skirted around the pair, making his way back upstairs. He didn't trust himself not to bait Winry if he remained. Entering the bedroom, he snorted at the sight of his Quilava _still _fast asleep. He reached for the pokéball on the desk and, without a warning, recalled the pokémon and then attached it to his belt.

Lazy thing.

He threw the towel on the bed and sat on it, before tying his hair back in its customary braid. The strands felt slick, but it was ideal for braiding and he made quick work of the job before getting back up and picking the final piece to his ensemble – a dark red cloak. He slung it around his shoulders, clasped it in place and stared at himself in the mirror.

"Not bad," he nodded, tugging on white gloves as he made his way to the door. "Al! Did you finish packing?"

"Uh-huh!" was the faint reply. "I'm ready to leave when you are!"

Ed sighed. They wouldn't be back for several days, so he double-checked to make sure they wouldn't leave behind anything essential – but, if they were good at one thing it was packing, so he found nothing.

He made his way downstairs, slowing when he saw everyone stood by the front door. Winry and Granny Pinako kept glancing at Al, who remained ignorant to their looks as he fidgeted, obviously wanting to leave but too kind to tell anyone to hurry up. Ed snorted – yet another way he and Al were different. Still, he made sure to engrave the squirming Al in his mind; sights like that rarely came, after all.

"It's a day's walk to Cherrygrove, and another half to New Bark Town. You have enough supplies, I take it?" Pinako chewed on the end of her pipe. "You never know when something might happen."

"Heh, you're acting like this is our first outing!" Ed laughed, clasping his hands behind his head. "We've walked much further before, and nothing's ever happened then. Why should this be different?"

Pinako's silence told more than anything she could have said, and his smile faded. "In that case I'll take my leave. I'm sure Winry will fill you in on the rest," she stepped back, but before she could leave Al moved to hug her. He had to bend over quite a bit and, watching, Ed silently gloated at the thought of someone being shorter than him.

If only it didn't have to be an old granny.

"Just wait! When we get back, I'll be a pokémon trainer and then we'll finally be Team Elric, taking on any challenge!" Al beamed, Ed grinned, and they high-fived with a laugh.

"I look forward to it," Pinako smiled and left to give the teenagers privacy.

An awkward silence descended. Ed fiddled with the clasp on his cloak, seeing without really seeing, and didn't register Winry walking to him until it was too late to avoid her hug.

Her hair tickled his neck as she whispered, "Take care, okay?" He exhaled and reluctantly patted her back. With a soft sniff she pulled back and proceeded to do the same to Al, only Al looked much more comfortable than Ed felt. "Do you have your pokégears?" He blinked and patted his pockets, eventually pulling out the slim device and holding it up. Al held his too, albeit a different colour to Ed's. "Good," Winry smiled. "Don't lose them okay? They're prototypes, so when you get back tell us how they work out!"

"We will," Al nodded. She beamed and then glanced around furtively, before lowering her voice.

"I snuck in a new application, one I made myself. It should be able to pinpoint your location anywhere, but I don't know if it'll work. So, would you mind just... wandering off route, maybe?"

"What?!" Ed exclaimed only to be shushed. He scowled. "Winry, that'll take longer-"

"Oh please, you can't tell me you were going to stick to the path anyway," she placed her hands on her hips and Ed and Al shared a guilty look. "I rarely ask you for anything, and this tiny thing isn't much, right?" she turned doe eyes to Al, and Ed watched his brother melt and agree to whatever she asked.

He covered his face with his hand, wondering how they'd grown up to be such softies.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," he shrugged. "Can we go now?" he winced at her glare.

"Call when you reach New Bark Town, okay? With you two together far too much can happen..." she narrowed her eyes. "And I expect you to look after Al, got it? Stay out of the long grass as much as you can!" Ed yawned and her face turned red. "I'm serious Ed! Until Al gets his pokémon he's a sitting duck and I don't want you to let him get hurt because-"

"Jeez woman, I know!" he glared at her. "I'm not an idiot! Though it's nice to know you have such faith in me," he scoffed and walked past his two friends. "Catch up when she's finished giving you the riot list Al!" he didn't look back as he left the house, walking down the creaky steps and reaching the dirt road.

He turned his gaze to the sky, shielding his eyes from the sunlight. Judging by the lack of cloud they would have fine weather to walk to.

"Brother!" Al caught up, and Ed turned to see a wide grin on his face. "Brother, we're finally setting off!"

"Yup!" he replied, leading the way. "So, I take it you're still stuck choosing which pokémon to get?"

"Argh, don't bring that up again..."

Their voices faded away, and although they never looked back Winry didn't stop watching until they were long out of sight. Then, she shut the door to a house that felt far too quiet, brushed away a tear and got to work.

---

**Resembool  
6:49 AM**

"_Ah_," Ed sighed, shutting his eyes for a moment to bask in the warm rays of the sun. "You know, I've missed this. Being with Granny and Winry's fun, but there's nothing quite like the feeling you get at the start of a journey, right?" he turned to Al.

"Uh-huh!" Al grinned. "It reminds me of when school's out for summer and you know you've got endless weeks of nothing ahead of you to do anything you want!"

At the mention of school, Ed shuddered. "I'm so glad being a trainer means you don't have to go anymore," he reached for the pokéball on his waist, "I swear the teachers were out to get me."

"Only because you kept pranking them."

"It was their own fault they were stupid," Ed enlarged his pokéball. "Besides, you and Winry had as much to do with that as I did. How _did _you always get out of trouble anyway?" he turned a suspicious eye to his brother who blinked back innocently and fluttered his eyelashes, crocodile tears appearing.

"E-Ed _made _me do it miss," he sniffed, voice wobbling. "H-he said mean things and w-would tell if I didn't help out..." he wiped his eyes. Ed gawked.

That _bastard_.

"Well, that solves the mystery why they always gave me lectures about how to treat family members," he sighed, unable to stay angry at Al for long. "I never got why. I just assumed..." he shook his head. "Whatever."

They reached the crossroads that led out of town. They had to go left if they wanted to reach Cherrygrove, and Ed had just started walking down the path when Al cleared his throat. Blinking, Ed came to a halt, and Al held up his pokégear. Their promise to Winry echoed through his mind.

"Aw, come on Al," he whined, "Do we have to?"

"It can't be that hard," Al coaxed, flicking through the applications to get to the World Map. "We know this countryside so it's not like we'll get lost until we get a lot closer to Cherrygrove, and by then we'll know if this works or not and be back on the path," he smiled. "Besides, Winry did it and she's pretty good at this stuff. We'll be fine."

Ed scowled, preparing to argue a bit more, but then Al walked ahead instead of left and the older realised Al would do it, with or without his brother.

Oh, how he wished the one trait they shared _wasn't _stubbornness.

Not many people lived in Resembool, their home town. As a kid Ed had wondered why, but when he got older he realised it likely came from its remote location (smack dab in the middle of nowhere) and the fact it didn't have a centre or gym. People living there had wanted to settle down in one place, maybe start a family, and take advantage of the peace. They didn't need anything else.

That wasn't true for the kids. With nothing to do, they'd resorted to making their own games ('hot lava' was a favourite of Ed's) and entertainment. Most left as soon as they could, determined to make a name for themselves in the big wide world – either as a trainer or otherwise – and Ed and Al would have done the same if it hadn't been for their mother. They hadn't been willing to leave her alone like their father had.

In a way, her death had provided them the freedom they desperately craved – but if freedom meant no arms to comfort them in the long nights, or a sweet smile to welcome them home, then they'd give it up without a second's thought.

He sighed; gazing up at the sturdy branches with leaves so thick they blocked out the sky and gave the woods an ethereal feeling.

Al had a point. To amuse themselves they'd explored the countryside, and as such knew it off by heart. They wouldn't get lost, but even if they did they had enough knowledge of the routes to Cherrygrove that they could find their way back.

Hurrying to catch up with his brother, he made sure to scowl so Al knew he didn't like this, but Al happily ignored him and led the way, focused entirely on the gadget in his hand (so much so Ed had to stop him from walking into trees or bushes every few minutes).

Al and Winry had always been interested in technology; Ed just viewed it as something far too complicated to bother with.

"You gonna let him out?" he halted at Al's words and looked at where he pointed. He laughed, realising he'd forgotten all about the pokéball in his hand.

"Yeah," he grinned and pressed the white button in the centre. In a flash of white his first and only pokémon appeared on the ground, peering up through sleepy, red eyes. Ed rolled his eyes. He had no idea how he'd ended up with such a lazy pokémon, though if he listened to his friends it had something to do with its trainer.

He had no idea what they meant.

Bending down, he scratched the smooth dark blue fur on its forehead. Quilava lent into his touch, but watched him curiously as if to say 'why am I here?'. "Come on lazybones, you're gonna keep me company from evil Al," he scooped up the pokémon and cradled it in his arms.

Quite content to remain there, Quilava yawned and snuggled into his neck. Ed grimaced as the soft white fur on its underside tickled his neck, and scowled at Al's snicker.

"You look so cute together," the boy cooed, and Ed huffed.

"We're not _cute_," he scoffed. "Guys aren't _cute_. We're big and strong and tough, isn't that right?" he looked at Quilava. The pokémon had already gone back to sleep. "... Be like that, then."

And then he had an epiphany.

"Hey Al," he looked at his brother. "Is part of the reason you're having so much trouble choosing because of me?" Al's eyes widened and he avoided his gaze; as much a 'yes' as a verbal answer would have been. "Don't. Seriously, there are hundreds of pokémon out there, all of whom would make an awesome tag-team. Our starter pokémon don't need to be. If you want Cyndaquil, get it."

"But..." Al bit his lip.

"Heh, they could be like brothers," Ed cut in, trying to convince the taller. "Wouldn't that be awesome? Besides, don't they say better two than one?"

"I think it's more 'better safe than sorry', brother, but I get it..." Al smiled. "Are you sure?" Ed just looked at him, and Al got the message. "Okay, okay. I'll make sure to choose based on which I want, rather than just what would be complimentary..."

"Good," Ed nodded and then peered at the pokégear, pulling a face at the fancy markings. "So, what's it saying? Have we gone far enough off route yet?"

His brother shook his head, "No, it's still automatically going to the programmed path. We have to get really far away before it locates us, apparently..." he peered through the trees, no end in sight. "I hope we don't have to go too far, it'll take us that much longer to get to New Bark Town."

Ed shrugged, "Hey, you're the one that wanted to do it _now_. I mean, we could've done it on the way back but you were willing..." he trailed off under his brother's glare.

Deciding it best to remain silent, he shut his mouth and started walking, taking the lead this time. After a moment Al followed, and they fell into a companionable silence.

Neither were aware of what they were about to walk in to.

---

**The Rockbell Residence  
Resembool  
7:15 AM**

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Sat on the porch, Granny Pinako peered up at the sky, the only sign of her discomfort being a slight increase in the wrinkles around her eyes. The thunder rumbled again, faint but distinctive, and then heavy footsteps clomped down the stairs.

The front door burst open revealing a wide-eyed Winry.

"Is that thunder?" she bit her lip. A gust of wind whipped around them and Pinako felt grateful for her own bun as she watched Winry struggle to keep her blonde hair out of her face. "Granny, Al's scared of thunder-"

"There's no need to worry," Pinako cut in before her granddaughter could panic more. "If those boys stuck to the path they should avoid it entirely. It's heading this way, over the forest. There's not a chance they'll be caught up in it." And yet, why did she have a bad feeling in her stomach?

"Oh..." Winry relaxed and then sat next to her. She wiped her cheek, leaving a smudge of oil in its face. "That's good. I'm a bit surprised though, there wasn't any mention of a storm this morning."

"You were listening to that radio station again?" Pinako frowned. "You know they're never right."

"I know, but he sounds so cute..." Winry sighed and got to her feet. "Well, anyway, I'll go check everything's secure. The last time we had a storm the power was out for ages. Let's hope that won't happen again!" she smiled and then shivered. Pinako nodded, trusting Winry to do the job properly, and turned back to looking out over the town.

"I'll be in soon," she told her and heard Winry disappear. In that brief moment she let her worry show. She'd had a bad feeling all morning, and this seemed to be more than a coincidence...

No, she was worrying over nothing. They would be fine.

---

**Near Route 31  
7:19 AM**

"Oy oy Al... did you know about this?" Ed's eyelid twitched. Al shook his head. Quilava let out a mournful sound. Together, they huddled next to the tree and stared out at the miserable sight. The rain, if possible, started to fall harder, breaking through the leaves and narrowly avoiding their heads.

"It's not meant to rain at all..." Al mumbled, pulling his hood up and hugging himself. He started to shiver, and Ed didn't hesitate to pass his Quilava over to the other. Being a fire pokémon, it gave out a constant feeling of warmth.

Right now, Al needed that more than he did.

Making sure his brother stayed as close to the tree as he could, Ed frowned at the rain. What were the odds? It rarely rained in Resembool, and Winry had said the weather would be fine. Heck, a few hours ago there hadn't been any clouds in the sky at all. How had the shower snuck up on them like this?

Then he heard it. The rumble of thunder.

Cursing, he turned around and prayed Al hadn't noticed – but judging by the wide eyes, his brother _had_. Damn it.

"Brother...?" Al clung to Quilava, who sensed his fear and did its best to comfort the boy. Ed wrapped his arms around his brother's shoulders and let Al lean into him. He tried to ignore the shaking that intensified at a bright flash of lightning.

He jumped when his pocket made a noise. Keeping one arm around Al, he pulled out the vibrating machine and felt his bad mood deepen at the pokégear. It bleated at him, obviously unhappy, and he wondered what had got into it when a few drops landed on it, causing it to buzz and crackle. Electricity didn't mix with water.

Even _he'd _known that, so surely Winry did, so why hadn't she made it waterproof? It couldn't be that hard could it?

He tried to flick through the applications but the screen kept flickering and dying. Eventually, he gave up and threw it as far as he could, out into the forest that they were rapidly losing vision of.

"You shouldn't throw Winry's things," Al chided, not looking away from Ed's chest. Ed could barely hear the quiet voice over the rain, "she'll kill you if she finds out." He hated how small Al felt in his arms, and sought for a way to distract himself.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her," he shrugged. Al remained silent. "What? It wasn't working anyway! It deserved to be thrown away like that! It's a machine, she should've found a way for it to work in wet weather!"

"Brother..."

"Okay!" he huffed, "I'll go get it, jeez..." he started to pull away, resigning himself to being soaked, but something held him back. Al's hand on his shirt. Ed's shoulders slumped, "You're sure we can't just use yours?" His brother finally looked up with a frown and he winced. "Okay, going now." Yet, with Al holding onto him so tightly, he couldn't exactly go easily. And a large part of him didn't want to leave Al all alone.

But he was leaving on Al's orders, too.

He'd never been fond of contradictions.

As gently as possible he prised Al's fingers off of his clothes. "You'll be fine for a few minutes, you know? I won't be far and, if worst comes to worst, Quilava's here to protect you, right?" he looked at his pokémon.

For all his complaining, he knew Quilava had a quick mind. It bobbed its head and nuzzled Al's neck, tickling him and letting him forget, at least for a few seconds, about the storm. Trusting his pokémon to keep Al occupied, Ed pulled his hood over his hair and strode out into the miserable forest before he could think about it further.

And, upon feeling the heavy downpour, wondered if one could drown in rain.

He grimaced and brushed dripping bangs out of his eyes, shuddering at the way clothes clung to skin. A few drops trickled in through tiny cracks in his cloak, sending shivers down his spine.

Grumbling under his breath about irritating brothers and their loyalty to not being hit by a wrench, he crouched down in the general area he'd thrown the pokégear and tried to spot the item. Unfortunately, with the bad visibility and its small size, he'd probably have more luck looking for a needle in a haystack. Still, he didn't need to find it, he just needed to give the impression he'd tried.

Thunder rumbled, deafening Ed for a few minutes, and he froze. Even though it didn't scare him, he had to admit that the thought of something so powerful above him –

"Brother!" a second later Al collided with him and they tumbled to the ground in a mess of limbs and mud. In the distance Ed heard Quilava make a protesting noise and recalled it to its pokéball before the wet weather would hurt it anymore. Their inability to stay in rain was the only downside of a fire pokémon; other than that, they were perfect.

"Al?" he squinted, trying to focus on his brother and, upon seeing the terrified boy, he remembered the burden of being an older brother. Swallowing back his own panic, he got to his knees and forced Al to do the same, trying to avoid showing how much the shaking affected him. "Look, we gotta find shelter, okay?"

"Okay," Al whispered, and let Ed pull him to his feet.

"Once we find shelter, we'll wait out the storm. It can't last forever!" Ed squeezed his brother's hand, grimacing at the stiffness of his fingers. If they didn't keep moving, though, they'd only get worse.

They started walking. Ed frantically searched his brain for anywhere they could seek refuge, but the only place he could think of he had no clue how to get to. He hadn't been paying attention to the map before hand and, with the rain, he couldn't recognise anything around them. He didn't know their location ergo he couldn't work out what way to go.

Still, if they could just find something familiar he could guide them to the mountain side where there might be a cave. It would take them way off route, but that couldn't be helped.

The thunder rumbled once more, above their heads, and Al pressed against his back. Ed tightened his grip, deciding not to voice the possibility of lightning hitting one of the trees. Al didn't need to worry about that as well. He didn't know why, exactly, storms terrified his brother. He only knew it had started after the storm on the night their mother died.

He supposed Al had likened it to an association, which would explain why he never left Ed's side if he could help it.

Time passed by, but they came no closer to finding shelter. The numbness of his feet and fingers, along with the miserable feeling inside, served to increase his desperation and he picked up the pace as he felt Al's shivering worsen. If their luck didn't change soon, they would be in very real trouble.

And then, finally, something happened.

"Brother, look!" Al's whisper had him turning to where the male pointed, and he couldn't stop a whoop of delight.

Only one river curved through this forest, guiding a route from the mountain to the sea. If they followed it upstream, before too long they would reach the rocks and finally find shelter.

"Come on!" he yelled and they started to run along the river bed, keeping it on their right. Hope rekindled, it gave Ed the strength he'd steadily been losing, and the renewed confidence passed on to his brother. So pleased with this new turn about, and thoughts of finding shelter, that they were, they forgot one crucial thing.

What wet weather did to the soil beside a river.

The only warning came when the ground crumbled beneath Al's feet. With a yell Al tumbled back, his fingers slipping out of Ed's, and the older could only watch, frozen, as the boy fell into the river.

"Al? AL!"

* * *

_A/N: Poor, poor Al. Of course, you guys should've guessed Al would suffer the most, given that it's his journey. Not to worry though, Ed'll get into his own scrapes soon enough, if you're patient. Read and review, to let me know what you think. Big mistake? Most awesome thing you've read? I'd appreciate C/C the most, though._

_If you're wondering why this isn't in the 'crossovers' it's because I needed a character from pokémon, and there aren't going to be any. So, it's here. I hope no one minds too much._


	2. Burn

**The Very Uneventful Journey  
Part 2

* * *

**

**Area Unknown  
****Evening**

Resembool didn't have a sea. It had a few rivers and one large lake, but nothing fancy like a beach and a sea.

The first and only time Al had seen one had been on their first trip to Cherrygrove, over a year ago, on the way to get Ed's first pokémon, but just because he hadn't spent much time there didn't mean he wouldn't recognise it.

The sound of water lapping against sand was different to how it would on a river. He could smell the salt, faint but noticeable to one who hadn't grown used to it. The softness beneath him had to be sand, the way it wormed itself into every nook and crevice on his body, and he wiggled his fingers. The surface shifted, confirming his thoughts.

He opened his eyes and stared at the darkening sky. Stars twinkled, reminding him of sun sparkling off water, and as his eyes grew used to the dim light he spotted more of them.

The aches in his body warned him moving was bad, but he sat up anyway and looked around. The beach didn't look like the one in Cherrygrove, although if it was he probably wouldn't have recognised in daylight let alone in the dark. But he couldn't see any rocks scattered, which had been something he remembered vividly because of how odd he'd thought it.

He had no clue where he was, or what had happened to him after landing in the river. Or, for that matter, what had happened to Ed -

- and he remembered.

_He didn't know what was going on, not until the current dragged him under and he wound up fighting a desperate struggle to live. The pressure eased and he broke surface, gasping for air. He kicked, angling his neck to keep his face out of the water as much as possible, and spotted a rock with just enough time to twist and shove himself away rather than crash._

_Thunder rumbled over his head, turning his blood to ice, and his memory returned in a flash. They'd been searching for shelter. He had fallen in the river. Ed had screamed._

_Where was Ed now?_

_The rain blurred his vision but he didn't let that stop him from trying to spot the blonde. He didn't give up until his inattention left him slamming into another rock and, with a start, he realised he had to save himself before he could find Ed. He turned his attention to the river._

_He'd always been the worst swimmer compared to Ed and Winry, but even if he __had been good it would've been useless. The storm had swollen the river beyond its capacity, clumps of soil from its sides dissolving around him, and all he could do was avoid hitting anything. He could hardly think to find a way out of this mess, let alone worry about what might be coming ahead._

_Going with the current should have been easy, but it tired him more than if he had fought against it. Every few seconds he had to fight back to the surface and it got harder each time. He felt... tired._

_His limbs didn't respond how he liked, numbed from the cold, bruised from the hits and worn out from the continuous effort. His brain felt sluggish, gradually shutting down from a lack of oxygen after all the water he swallowed, and he drifted for awhile before remembering his position and attempting again._

_It was a losing battle, but... his brother wouldn't give up, so he couldn't either. He had to swim._

_But soon, he began drifting again and his eyes slipped shut. The rain had eased off, now only a light patter on his face, but he hardly noticed. He didn't feel anything._

_Until he crashed into a rock larger than the rest._

_Instincts left him scrabbling for purchase, nails breaking on the rough surface, but then his fingers caught on a plant. He floated for a moment, needing a few seconds to realise what had happened, before forcing himself to look. The rock acted as a shield, easing the control of the current. A growing plant or vine, maybe, had wormed itself around it, the reason Al had stopped._

_He frowned and, with renewed energy, hauled himself out of the water. He collapsed on the top of the rock, gasping for air with weak, trembling limbs. His feet still dangled in the water, but he didn't mind that much._

_The rock was comfy, solid and reassuring after all his tossing and turning. In fact, he could just sleep here for the rest of his life, and not worry..._

_It didn't take long to start dozing, registering the light rain and gushing water at the back of his mind but not really paying attention. Reality and dreams mixed, convincing him for several minutes that he stood on the edge of a cliff, swinging back and forth, with a waterfall below him and his brother stood on the bank, laughing..._

_"AL!" he lifted his head a few inches. Had he imagined that? Of course he had, his brother couldn't be __here. Hopefully he was somewhere warm, where Al would be as soon as he could get back to sleep... "Alphonse!" His brother sounded terrified. Was it because of him? He never liked worrying his brother, he had to do something, but he felt so tired..._

_Something hit him. He jerked upright, almost slipping off his perch before remembering the precarious position. He glanced up the river, wondering if he'd imagined Ed's voice, and stared._

_His brother, his wonderful, amazing, utterly __stupid brother, neared his position, but not in the way Al would have wanted. He swirled down the river, struggling against the current much like Al had. His heart leapt to his throat when Ed went under._

_"Brother!" he yelled, searching the water's surface. Ed reappeared, much closer than before, and Al reached out. "Grab my hand!" If he could get a strong hold of the vines and Ed, maybe they could figure out a way..._

_Ed ploughed in his direction, clasping the limb, but Al hadn't been prepared for the strength behind the pull. The vines broke and, with a soundless shout, he tumbled back into the river, losing grip of his brother. He kicked, forcing himself to the surface, and twisted around._

_"Brother?!" Strong arms wrapped around his waist._

_"That didn't go so well," Ed rasped in his ear, and Al felt a hysterical giggle bubble in his throat. Even in their position, knowing his brother was with him gave him strength to continue._

_Whatever happened, they'd face it together. Even if it was a waterfall._

_... what?_

_Before Al could blink, they went over._

Al sighed and got to his feet, wincing at a sharp pain in his back. All his other joints just ached from exhaustion, but he could ignore that. Another glance told him Ed wasn't with him and he started walking, keeping his eyes peeled. If they were lucky, maybe he hadn't been washed up further than him.

The sand shifted with each step. He wobbled several times before he worked out how to walk without falling and then squinted, searching for any sign of light in the distance. Alas, the world was still.

Surprisingly quickly he reached the end of the beach, where sand stopped and dirt began. He blinked. He should have expected to find a path _somewhere_. The fact he hadn't told him more than he needed about his state of mind. The most important thing now would be to find a place to sleep and, maybe, eat. He could hardly search for Ed if he fell asleep before the first few steps.

With no choice he kept walking, shoving his hands in cold, damp pockets and trying to ignore the fear that crept up on him. He wasn't a kid, he shouldn't be scared of the dark. His brother wouldn't be scared.

But, the exhaustion had no problem convincing his brain everything he saw or might have moved was dangerous. His heart pounded and he willed it to stop, even as he picked up the pace and searched harder for any sign of human life.

Where had he ended up? None of the areas around the nearby towns were deserted like this – they always had at least one person, or a house, somewhere. And, where had _Ed _ended up?

"Ursa..." a small voice whimpered. Al froze. The noise didn't come again and he shook himself, before starting to walk again. A second later he tripped. He hit the ground with oomph, all the air knocked out his lungs, and he lay there for a bit and waited for the world to stop spinning. Somewhere in the distance, something crowed another mournful "Ursa..."

Al bit his lip and sat up, knowing he hadn't imagined that one. He studied the area around him and, after a moment, spotted a quivering black shape near his foot. The pokémon had curled in a ball, obviously doing the tried and tested 'if I can't see you, you can't see me' technique.

He took in the tiny form. It had to be a baby, nothing else was that small, but then where was its mother? If he tried to soothe the terrified thing, would she come along and assume the worst?

The pokémon made another whimpering sound and he gave up arguing with himself. Even if it meant being attacked he couldn't, in good conscience, leave it there.

"Hey," he lowered his voice to a soft, even tone, mimicking his brother's voice after Al woke up from a nightmare, "Shh, it's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." The pokémon looked up, tears in its eyes, and the moonlight revealed two large round ears and a crescent moon on its forehead. A Teddiursa – but, Teddiursa couldn't be found anywhere near where he should be...

He made sure to keep a smile on his face as he reached out, muttering nonsense words. He didn't attempt to pet it, fearing it would run, and instead left his hand hovering just in front of it. A pink nose sniffed his hand, and he remained perfectly still until the baby looked comfortable.

Then, he ran a single finger over its head. It shivered but didn't pull away, so he did it again; this time adding a scratch just behind its ears. The Teddiursa made a crooning sound and Al fell, hard.

"You're gorgeous," he whispered, beaming when it limped forward and rest tiny paws on his knees. It trembled, as if it expected to be hit, but as far as Al was concerned it could attack him and he wouldn't mind. "It's okay," he encouraged it into his lap, and had to fight back a very embarrassing noise when it cuddled into his chest, adorably cute and... very cold.

He gasped and hugged it closer, trying to pass on as much warmth as he could. How long had it been out here to be that cold? Where was its mother?

"Ursa..." the pokémon whimpered and Al jerked, recognising it as a cry of pain. Remembering its limp, he ran his fingers over its feet. When he reached its third paw the pokémon made another noise, twitching, and he instantly shushed it back to sleep, regretting hurting it.

Poor thing. He had to get it to a centre!

He got to his feet, trying not to jog the baby in his arms. It yawned and peering up through black eyes, and Al smiled as he started walking.

"We're gonna take you to a centre, get you healed up. After that, we'll see if we can find your mum. You have to have one somewhere, right?" he scratched its head. "She must be really worried about you. You're so young, there's no way you'd be able to last much longer out here..." he wracked his brains for a Teddiursa's habitat.

It and its evolved form, Ursaring, were most commonly found in mountainous areas, although one could find them in a forest. He glanced around, but couldn't see either of the two habitats nearby.

"Maybe you're a trainer's pokémon?" he wondered and felt a surge of anger. "If you are, and they just abandoned you here, I'm gonna find them and give them a piece of my mind! You don't leave pokémon!" sensing his distress the baby hid its head in his neck, and he sighed. "Sorry, sorry, let's not think about that okay? You have a mum, and we're gonna find her! But... after we get you healed, and I've had a rest," he admitted. "Oh! And you can help me look for Ed too, while you're here..."

The darkness didn't feel as scary as before, not now he had something to protect. The silence, too, he broke by chatting to the Teddiursa about any old topic, soothing them both with the calm tone.

And, as if responding to that, he finally spotted a light in the darkness.

"Look!" he exclaimed, grinning and breaking into a run. He kept his gaze on the windows of the small hut, shining bright against the darkness of the night. "Maybe there's someone there, and they'll let us have a rest and stay for the night! Maybe it's brother!" he halted in front of the door and knocked. No one replied, so he knocked again, and then heard some movement behind.

The door swung open with a creaking noise. A middle aged woman peered out, long dark strands falling across a sleepy gaze. Momentarily disappointed it wasn't Ed, he shoved it aside and put on his best smile, although he couldn't stop a wince from the bright light. The woman blinked at him, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. The silence crept on, and Al frantically searched for words that wouldn't scare her.

"... this is going to sound stupid, but, can I stay here tonight?"

The woman continued to stare at him, before jerking as if she had just woke up and stepping aside, "I'm sorry, I was still asleep. Come in, you look like you could use a warm drink," Al brightened and he stepped inside. "What're you doing out here so late? Don't you know it's dangerous?" She shut the door and scrutinised him. He shifted and blinked when she focused on the pokémon in his arms. "What's this? Pick up a stray?" she bent in close and her smile faded. "A wounded stray, that's for sure. I take it she's not yours?" the flinty stare made Al glad he hadn't caused its current state.

He shook his head and looked down, for the first time taking in how rough it looked. Brown fur looked matted and thin, worn out in some parts, and the wounded leg looked swollen and bruised. "I found it. I'm hoping to find its - _her -_ mother..."

"You didn't take it did you?" she demanded, turning to the small stove and putting on the kettle. "I don't want a band of Ursaring knocking on my door. Lived here for years and not once been disturbed! Been a place of refuge for trainers like yourself, though now that I look at you, you look a little young to be challenging the Elite Four."

"What?" Al jerked. The woman hummed and placed a steaming mug on the table, before ushering him to the cushions in front of the fire.

"Forget where you were?" she chuckled, but when Al didn't stop staring her amusement faded. "You really didn't? Then why are you here?" she settled opposite.

"I don't know where 'here' is," he admitted, looking down at the Teddiursa. It dozed in his lap, tiny body rising and falling with a slight tremble. "I was going to get my first pokémon with my brother, but some things happened and we got separated. I woke up here, and I've been walking ever since!" she pursed her lips. "I'm not trespassing am I? I didn't mean to cause any trouble! I can go, if you want, or..." The woman remained silent for a long time, yellow nails tapping her tea cup. Al's shoulders slumped, resigning himself to being kicked out and having to find somewhere else to go. "I'll be leaving, then..."

"Don't be ridiculous," she snapped. He jumped. "If you don't even have your own pokémon I can't let you go back out there. The good news for you is that New Bark Town isn't far. If you had the right equipment, it would take you half an hour at most."

"Really?!"

"I said _if_, which you obviously don't," he sat back and she stared into the crackling fire. Al followed her gaze, but couldn't find what she saw. "We're in Route 27. This is the route that trainers who have beaten all eight gyms and want to challenge the Elite take. The pokémon here are fierce, and there's nowhere to rest once you start. It's all, or nothing."

"Oh..." he bit his lip and then fear struck him, "what about my brother?! If he ended up here too, then he's out there and I can't-" he started to get up but she snapped her fingers. He froze.

"You're a fool. What can you do? You have no pokémon, you don't know the route. You're exhausted and hungry, what use will you be?" her harsh look softened. "Is he a trainer, or is he like you?"

"He's the best trainer I know," Al puffed his chest, "no one can beat him when it comes to pokémon!"

She chuckled, "If he's so good then you have nothing to worry about." Al bit back what he wanted to say, knowing she had a point, and picked up his drink. He took a sip, surprised by how quickly the warmth spread through him. He relaxed, and the woman nodded, satisfied. "I know you won't stop worrying, but we can't help that. You need to look after yourself before you help another, otherwise you'll be a liability."

_That _made sense too, but he really didn't want to hear those things, not while Ed was still out there and could be hurt or worse! He took another sip of the drink to quell his annoyance, and found his eyelids shutting against his will.

"Huh?"

"There's some herbs, meant to calm you and put you to sleep," she smiled at him and stood up, taking the drink before he could spill it. "I figured you wouldn't sleep otherwise." Al wanted to protest, but the warmth, the drugs and his own exhaustion acted together to pull him to sleep. "I'll see you in the morning..." the woman's words faded in and out. He tried, he honestly did, but he drifted off with nary a peep.

Unknown, the Teddiursa snuggled closer, and did the same.

---

**Professor Elm's Laboratory  
New Bark Town  
09:34 AM**

The two lab assistants winced as snoring echoed out the backroom into the main lab. The older one sighed and took off his glasses, leaning on his keyboard and staring miserably at the computer screen. Despite his age, of the two he was only a recent addition and hadn't yet got used to the professor's... eccentrics. The younger one laughed at his expression and pushed the wheelie chair back, grinning.

"You get used to it after awhile," he commented. "Besides, he's a fantastic researcher so it's okay to let him slack off every once in awhile, right?"

"But it's not every once in awhile, it's at least once a day!" the older looked close to pulling out his hair. "He doesn't do any work, or he gets so distracted that it even falls to us to be his caretakers. I didn't come here to feed him!"

"Chill out man," the other frowned, "look, why don't you go home today and come back tomorrow fresh and alert? It'll be much easier to deal with then. Don't worry, I'll cover you," he winked. The older sighed and got to his feet, pulling off the white coat and leaving it dangling over the chair.

With a parting wave, he crossed the large room, avoiding treading on as much paper as he could. His concentration on this left him ignorant to the new arrival until they bumped into each other. He stumbled back, apologies draining when he realised who it was.

"P-professor Oak!" he squeaked, and heard a crash from behind as the other assistant fell out his chair. "What can we do for you?"

"Hm? You look tired," the esteemed professor smiled, "Has the professor been making you work hard again?" The assistant swallowed, ready to make up any kind of excuse, but all thought went out the window when a louder snore than before echoed through. He moaned, collapsing to the ground, while Oak laughed. It was a jolly sound, filled with too much knowing, and with a parting nod he strode across the lab to the small room.

He slammed the door shut behind him, making the sleeping male jerk and snuffle his way out of sleep. Oak waited until the other was half awake before speaking, "What do we have here?" He probably took far too much pleasure in watching the other tip his chair too far and hit the ground.

"P-Professor Oak!" Elm squeaked, picking up his chair. "I wasn't expecting you! If I had, I would've-"

"Nonsense, I didn't even know I'd come here until I was in Cherrygrove," Oak admitted with a smile, "I heard a new trainer would soon be arriving, so I decided to stop by. I was just coming back from my radio show, you know. They rarely grant me such leave..."

"And a wonderful show it is!" Elm beamed. "I recommend it to all the new trainers and they've each told me that it's helped them so much! You have a lot of fans!"

"Ah, that is..."

"Would you like anything? Tea? Coffee? A place to sit?" Elm bounded to the coffee machine, and Oak stole his seat. He sighed in relief, knowing he was probably getting too old to keep up this kind of travelling anymore. "It'll be awhile before the boys get here."

"Boys?" Oak raised an eyebrow, accepting the drink, "two new trainers?"

Elm laughed, "Oh no! They're brothers, from Resembool. The older got his pokémon over a year ago, now it's his younger brother's turn. The boy took a Cyndaquil last time, although..." he sighed. "It took us awhile to douse the fires. Edward, the older one, wanted the fire pokémon, but it certainly didn't want to make it easy for him. It ran about, ignored him, burned him... but he didn't give up. Eventually it saw that, and gave in."

"Ah, you have to treasure those moments as you get older," Oak took a sip and pulled a face. Elm made coffee _just _like he remembered. "You expect the boy to get a Cyndaquil, like his brother?"

"Who knows?" Elm shrugged and then brightened. Oak regretted coming so early, "But while we're waiting, why don't we go through some notes I recently made? I'm sure they'll prove one of your theories to be wrong, you see..." he darted away.

Now, Oak really _did _regret coming so early. He should have called first to find out an estimate... still, it couldn't be helped. He'd put himself in this mess, so he had to see it out to the end.

In his opinion, the new trainer couldn't come fast enough.

---

**Route 27  
Morning**

Something wriggled against his side.

He cringed away from the source, unable to stop a few giggles, and swatted whatever it was, expecting to hear his brother whine about abusive brothers before tickling him further. When his palm met fur instead of skin, he woke up fully and twisted. The Teddiursa peered up at him, blinking once, and in a flash he remembered the previous day's events. He bolted upright only to cry out and collapse back on the bed.

Wait, bed?

"You're awake," he turned his head to the voice. In the daylight, the woman looked a great deal older than last night, "how do you feel?"

Giving her question careful thought, he slowly sat up and found only stiff muscles and a few bruises on his stomach and back. But, considering what he'd been through, he considered himself lucky to get away with just that.

"I'm fine," he replied, smiling when the Teddiursa butted his palm. He pet its head, "what time is it?"

"Mid morning," she turned from the stove. For the first time Al noticed the savoury smell of bacon and eggs, and his mouth watered. "I sent my pokémon looking for your brother an hour ago, but they haven't returned yet," she watched the pokémon, "I see you've earned a friend there. It's always a joy to see good relations between partners..." she trailed off and hummed.

"Is something wrong?"

She waved a hand, "Not particularly. Breakfast will be finished soon, so why don't you clean yourself up in the bathroom until then?" she gestured to a door he hadn't noticed the previous night. Realising he really needed the loo he nodded and got out of bed.

To his surprise, the Teddiursa started to follow.

"Hey, no, you stay here okay? It'll be way more comfortable," he tried to put it back in the middle of the bed, but it refused to let go of his sleeve. His resolve weakened, and shattered altogether when it peered up at him. "Fine, okay, you can come. I guess you'd like a wash too, right?" he ignored the woman's chuckle as he made his way to the bathroom.

They later emerged looking and feeling a lot cleaner. The Teddiursa bounded across the floor, not at all bothered by its limp, and attempted to climb up onto the chair. However, that appeared to be too much for the injured pokémon, and Al came to its rescue. He placed it on the surface, where a small bowl of pokémon food waited. It dug in just as he sat down, and like magic the woman dropped a plate in front of him.

"Thank you so much!" he started to eat. The woman smiled and then left the house, but the instant the door drifted shut he felt awkward about staying in a house not his own. He ate as quickly as he could, and waited until the pokémon had finished before picking her up and heading outside.

Only to stop and stare, open mouthed, at its beauty.

He'd heard stories of the Tohjo Falls, and subsequent routes, of the powerful pokémon there, but none of them had mentioned what it looked like. He hadn't been able to see anything last night but this morning he could see everything; the nearby island, with a raging waterfall leading to a large cave and a long path in front of it, curving round to a bridge that linked to the land Al stood on. The flowers, provided with more than enough moisture and sunlight, bloomed everywhere - a mixture of every colour.

Al bent down to touch one, only to fall on his backside when it moved and a tiny face peered up at him.

"Bellossom!" it chirped, and various other Bellossom around it woke up and responded. He huffed, amused, and smiled when they started dancing.

"So pretty, right?" he asked of the Teddiursa, who looked just as awed as him. He looked around again, this time focusing more on the pokémon, and noticed what he'd missed before. Not just Bellossom, but he could spy a few Bellsprouts in there too, whilst up in the tree he could see Pidgeys and Aipoms wrestling over something.

If only Ed could see this place...

... he probably wouldn't appreciate it the way Al did, though. He wouldn't care about the light spray or the pleasant scent. He'd only care about the pokémon, what types, how they acted.

Not knowing his brother's whereabouts dampened his spirits. Truthfully, even if he wouldn't appreciate it, Al would've wanted to see this with Ed. Then again, nothing else had gone right on this trip, so he shouldn't be surprised. At least he didn't have to worry about being late to Professor Elm's, if New Bark Town really was that close.

A scream cut through the tranquillity, sending Pidgeys flying and other pokémon hiding, but startling no one more than Al, who recognised his brother's voice.

"You wanna piece of this? HUH? YOU WANNA TAKE ME ON YOU SHITHEAD?!" the roar cut out suddenly, and everyone jumped at a loud crashing sound. On the path by the waterfall a clump of smoke appeared and several rocks fell into the water. Something had just slammed hard into it - and Al could only hope it hadn't been Ed. "HA! FUCK YOU!" He exhaled, not realising he'd held his breath, and scanned the path.

The ground rumbled. Teddiursa whimpered and curled up in his arms, but Al was too distracted by the dust cloud that had appeared on the path. On closer inspection, he realised _Ed _had made it, running faster than humanly possible.

"Brother!" he yelled, his delight on finding him alive killed by the worry he was being chased. "ED!"

His brother skidded to a halt and twisted, "Al?!" Even far away he could hear his brother's disbelief, "What the hell are you doing over there?!"

"What are _you _doing over _there_?!" he replied, taking in the red-face and set jaw. He knew that stance - if this kept up, Ed would stop running and fight no matter what happened. Of course, the fact he hadn't done so in the first place... "Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay!? I'm being chased by a fifty-foot pokémon in rage, would _you _be okay?!" the rumbling got worse and Ed swore loudly, spinning to face his adversary. Al felt the blood drain out of his face when the chaser rounded the corner and revealed itself. Ed hadn't been joking in the slightest - the sun gleamed off of its steel body, sharp spikes glinting dangerously. The Steelix roared, eyes red with anger. Ed grit his teeth and enlarged his pokéball. "Guess I've got no choice..."

"How did you manage to annoy a Steelix?!" Al's voice went higher than he liked, but he hardly noticed.

A Steelix.

Ed had managed to piss off a _Steelix_.

Al couldn't even work out _how_. They lived underground, in packs, and never came to the surface unless provoked. Even then, to be in a rage, it had to be something serious. He moaned, covering his eyes, hardly able to watch. Not even Ed could fight against a Steelix, no matter how good a trainer he might be. There was a difference between the pokémon around Resembool, and the pokémon that trainers facing the Elite Four fought.

"Go, Quilava!" the pokémon burst out of its pokéball, rearing back and letting the flames on its back ignite as it faced down its much larger adversary. Al didn't blame it for blanching once it saw what it fought. "Hit and run tactics, got it?! Fire spin! Before it gets us!" At least he had a type advantage. Steel pokémon were weak to fire.

But, it wouldn't be enough. They'd still lose.

"Teddiursa!" the pokémon in his arms started crying, positively terrified of the Steelix, and Al pulled off his coat and wrapped it up. However, he couldn't bring himself to run away. He couldn't abandon his brother, even if he couldn't do anything more than watch.

No, he had to do something. They couldn't fight it, but if he could provide an escape route for them...

A gleaming light caught his attention. He turned just in time to see Quilava dodge an Iron Tail and sprint up its spikes. Ed beamed. "Alright! Lava Plume!" Quilava reared back and blew, and ball after ball of fire appeared, slamming into different parts of the Steelix. In response it bucked and twisted, slamming into the side of the caves again and again. Any joy at the successful attack faded when rocks started tumbling down the cliffside.

"Brother!" he yelled, gesturing frantically.

"I know!" his brother yelped and dodged several of the smaller ones. "Fuck fuck fuck..." Quilava finally lost its grip and went flying, thankfully in Ed's direction. "Gotcha!" Ed exclaimed, narrowly catching his dizzy pokémon, but the Steelix's continued movements sent them off balance. They hit the ground.

Never had Al felt more helpless. If only he had his own pokémon, maybe he could turn the side of the battle!

The Steelix opened its mouth and a purple flame started. Al started, recognising it instantly.

"Brother, watch out! It's using Dragon Breath!" he yelled, for all the good it did. Ed's eyes widened and, grabbing his pokémon, rolled out the way just in time, although not before he got quite a few singes. Unfortunately, neither he nor Quilava were out the woods, for at that moment a large rock broke free and tumbled down the cliff.

They wouldn't have any time to get out the way.

"Brother!"

* * *

_A/N: Ahaha, just one more part. This was never intended to be long. Um, I'm taking creative license, of a sort. In the games the little island by Route 27/Tohjo Falls is really small, but while they're situated there I decided to enlarge it. So it's really really big, okay? And the woman is based on that person who gives you the TM Sandstorm, hence the line about being liked by the pokémon. Hehe, thanks to those who've reviewed/favourited/alerted! Hope you enjoyed this part too!  
_


	3. Fight

**The Very Uneventful Journey  
Part 3

* * *

Route 27  
Near Noon**

The rock looked big. As in, really _really _big. As in, liable to crush him if he didn't get out its way; but at the speed it moved, he wouldn't be able to dodge in time. He was screwed!

"Shit..." he hissed, shielding his head and awaiting impact. However, instead of being flattened like a pancake, a blinding light surrounded him. "What the hell!?" he cringed, closing his eyes instinctively, but when he felt the pokémon in his arms start to change shape they snapped back open. He stared, open mouthed, finally catching on to what was happening.

The light faded. A delighted grin spread over Ed's face as, where his beloved Quilava once sat, an almost monstrous figure stood. Its collar of fire blazed in the sunlight and flinty eyes stared around. It twisted, bulky thighs giving it strength, and made quick work shattering the incoming rock.

He had a Typhlosion.

"Alright!" he exclaimed, scrambling to his feet and cheering. "That's one for our team!"

"Bakaaaa!" the Typhlosion threw its shoulders back and puffed out its chest. As much as Ed wanted to revel in his new badass pokémon, he couldn't forget the reason why they were here in the first place. He darted next to his partner, but kept his gaze trained on their foe.

The Steelix had held back whilst evolving, not knowing what would happen, but now it looked even angrier than before. This time, however, he didn't fear that gaze.

"Yo! You ready to give it another shot? This should be a cinch for you now, so don't let me down!" In response to his challenge, Typhlosion straightened and roared, the flames around its neck growing brighter. He grinned.

"Brother, Typhlosion's much stronger but he's also slower! You can't rely on speed as the main tactic anymore!" Al cut in before he could start and Ed grimaced.

In all his previous battles he'd used Quilava's speed to win, but Typhlosion couldn't do that. Despite its size, Steelix was a fast pokémon and had long reach. All he could do right now was use powerful attacks and try to finish it as quickly as possible – otherwise even with a type advantage, they would lose.

He clenched his fist.

"Typhlosion, Quick Attack!" But in such a small area, there was nowhere to gain an advantage. If they could get to a higher position he could use _that _attack, but otherwise... he winced as Steelix swung around and knocked his pokémon into the side of the mountain. "Damn, what...?" he blinked and looked further up the side. Everywhere the rocks had fallen he could see little cracks and platforms.

He needed height, right? And Typhlosion could easily climb...

"Typhlosion, get as high as you can up the mountain! Don't stop until you can't get any further!" he ordered. Typhlosion didn't question him and started climbing, instinctively finding the little nooks and crannies that would allow it to reach higher.

However, the Steelix didn't like this new tactic. It roared and slammed into the side of the mountain, shaking both ground and rock. Ed swore as his pokémon lost its grip and slipped down several feet.

"Keep going! You can do it!" he encouraged, and it continued.

He needed something to distract the Steelix! How the hell was he supposed to do that?!

Well, he'd pissed it off earlier right? Maybe if he made himself a target, he could distract it long enough for Typhlosion to get into position! He bent down and picked up a stone. "Oy, bastard!" he threw it, knocking the distracted pokémon on the head. It froze and then turned to him, the rage that had been disappearing reigniting itself. He swallowed, "Yes you, you dipshit!"

Whether it understood what he said or not, it clearly did not like having a stone thrown at it.

The Steelix charged for him and, to his dismay, he found he couldn't move. Breathless, it was only a call of his name and hand on his elbow dragging him out the way that let him avoid the attack.

"What're you doing?!" he demanded. "You don't have any pokémon!"

"I wasn't going to abandon you!" Al shouted as they turned to face the Steelix once more. "There's a reason pokémon battles are called pokémon battles!" The Steelix charged for them once more and they split, narrowly avoiding being hit, "this way!"

He followed Al behind a large boulder. Their sudden disappearance confused the Steelix, and granted them a few seconds breathing time. For the first time he saw Al holding something.

"What's that?"

"I found her last night," Al pulled back his coat to reveal a trembling Teddiursa. Ed's eyes widened, "she was hurt, I couldn't leave her there!"

"Oy oy, you can't jump into battle if you've got something to protect!" he snapped, and they both flinched as something exploded above them. He twisted, searching for his Typhlosion, and spotted the large pokémon half way up and continuing.

The Steelix could still easily reach it, if they didn't keep it distracted. Just a few more minutes...

"But you needed help!"

"I could've handled it!" the rock they lent against was suddenly stolen and they tumbled on their backs. Ed found himself staring upside-down at the steel pokémon and gulped. "Al, run! If you want to help me, get out of here!"

He didn't wait to see if Al had followed his orders. He rolled out the way and, hardly thinking, grabbed hold of one of the silver spikes. The Steelix pulled back, annoyed, and Ed went with it, awkwardly climbing onto its back as it moved. He swore when it started bucking, trying to get rid of him. How the hell could pokémon do this? They made it look so easy!

"What are you doing?!" Al shrieked.

"I don't have a fucking clue!" he replied, and then wondered if he should have admitted that.

Well, he was here now. He scrambled up its back, hissing as one of the spikes cut through his shoulder, but persevered and soon clung to what should have been its neck, had it been human. That turned out to be a mistake because it allowed Steelix to run its side into the mountain.

He fell, hitting the ground dazed and in pain, and could only blink the Steelix that lowered itself eye-to-eye. He saw the rage easing, but not quickly enough to save him from his fate.

Fate had other plans, however. Before the Steelix could attack something ran in its way, or rather, someone. Ed blinked passed the bloody haze, focusing on a trembling Al with his arms spread out, protecting Ed. Hot worry surged in him, realising what could happen if Al didn't move out the way, and said the first thing that came to mind.

"What the fuck are you doing?!"

"I don't know!" he wanted to laugh, to cry, and then he noticed the Teddiursa, huddled against Al's leg but facing down the terrifying pokémon anyway. What was a Teddiursa's attacks? He thought through the headache and, after a moment, an idea sparked.

There could be no harm in trying, anyway.

"Al! Tell it to use lick!" Teddiursa were fast. It would be able to get there, but only have one chance.

"Teddy, Lick!" Al didn't question him and, as touched as he was, Ed knew that once they got out of this he would have to talk to Al about his nicknames. Didn't he have any originality? "You can do it, I believe in you!" The Teddiursa had hesitated, but Al's encouragement gave it the strength to dart forward.

Ed swore at its limp, "You didn't tell me it was already injured!"

"When did I have the chance?" Al hauled him to his feet and pulled his arm over his shoulder. "Are you okay?" he looked pale, and when Ed pushed his hair back and came back with a bloody hand he found why.

"Don't worry about me," he murmured, not taking his gaze off of the tiny pokémon despite the haze in his mind. Any pokémon going against a Steelix looked small, but only now did he realise it was a baby. How the hell did Al always find the helpless ones? "I'll be fine as soon as we take this bastard down..."

The Teddiursa dodged a sweep of the tail and, in one clean swipe, licked the steel coat. Ed had hoped, but still gaped when the Steelix's moves slowed and started to tremble under the effort to move them.

"It's paralysed..." Al breathed.

"Al, you find awesome pokémon!" Ed beamed, before hearing a cry from above. He twisted, focusing on his Typhlosion who had got as far as it could.

"Get your pokémon out of there," he ordered, shoving Al away, "call him back, whatever, just get out of range. I don't want anyone getting caught up in this!"

"Right," his brother ran away, calling the baby to his side. It went instantly, seeking protection from the trainer it obviously adored, and Ed couldn't stop a smile. It didn't surprise him; Al had an aura that seemed to put everyone at ease. Pokémon, people, it didn't matter – everyone loved Al, and it always amazed Ed that Al never realised how much effect he had on people.

When they were out of range, or as far as they could be anyway, he cupped his hands around his mouth and prayed his pokémon would hear his shout.

"Typhlosion! Fire Blast!"

Fire Blast was one of the most powerful techniques a fire pokémon could learn, but was also one of the most dangerous. The strength of its fire could melt any substance and char everything in its path to dust. However, that power came at a price – if a pokémon used it more than three or four times, they would faint from exhaustion.

The attack wouldn't obliterate the Steelix but it should make it faint. At least, he hoped. If it didn't, well...

Typhlosion leapt off the side of the cliff and started to plummet, but showed no sign of the fear it must feel. Ed's heart jumped to his throat and he clenched his fist when it opened its mouth and fired.

Paralysed, Steelix never had a chance.

A tornado of fire surrounded the pokémon and his Typhlosion fell into it, disappearing from view. The ground cracked and the brothers were thrown back from the intense force. Ed hit the side of the mountain once again, but lost sight of Al and panicked for a moment, before the activities of the two pokémon recaptured his attention.

The fire died down, revealing Typhlosion crouched on Steelix's head, unruffled and crackling with uncharged flames. Its fur was, after all, flame resistant. The same couldn't be said for the Steelix.

It seemed to fall in slow motion, eyes slipping shut with a mournful wail, before hitting the ground and lying still. Typhlosion jumped off, but upon landing its legs gave out and crumpled to the floor. Ed's heart skipped a beat and he struggled to his feet, stumbling across the rubble to its side.

"Typhlosion!" he exclaimed, falling beside it and pulling it into his lap. Its new evolved form meant he could only rest its head and shoulders on his legs, but that seemed to be more than enough. The pokémon opened its eyes, searching for something, and Ed gave it a smile that trembled at the edges. He ran a hand through its fur, stroking where he knew it liked it. "I'm so proud of you," he whispered.

He looked at its legs and grimaced. Both ankles had swollen, likely from the speed it had hit Steelix. Nothing would have escaped a fall like that unscathed. But, it hadn't given up. "Heh, I guess there _is_ something to the phrase 'like pokémon, like trainer'," he chuckled weakly.

"Brother!" he looked up and spotted Al running towards them, a cut on his cheek and covered in grime. He waved, and Al skidded to a halt in front of them. "Are you two okay?"

"Yeah," he nodded, looking back at his pokémon, "Typhlosion's hurt pretty bad though... what about you?"

"We're fine," Al knelt beside Typhlosion and reached out, "He was amazing, you know? It was like watching a movie. Except, this is... more real..." his hand trembled as it ran through the beige fur. "Y-you could have been seriously hurt... we all could have..."

Ed rest his hand on top of Al's and lightly squeezed. He smiled, "But we're not. Be thankful for that, and not what could have been."

His brother nodded and scrubbed his eyes. Ed looked away to let him regain his composure, and spotted an elderly woman bending over the unconscious Steelix. Upon realising she'd been spotted, she straightened and came over. In her hands she held something – a potion.

"Here," she murmured, "it won't heal all its injuries, but it'll make it comfortable for the journey to Elm."

"Who are you?" he asked, accepting the potion and squirting it on the obvious injuries of Typhlosion.

"I live here, acting as one last stop for pokémon trainers before they reach the League," she snorted, "I give out TMs depending on if I like the trainer and their relationship with their partners."

"She helped me out last night," Al smiled, "I needed a place to stay and she let me stay at her house."

The League? That would mean they were somewhere near Victory Road, which meant that the pokémon they'd just defeated... the blood drained out of Ed's face. He'd known that they couldn't be near where they meant to be, but he hadn't realised exactly _where _that might be.

Only the best of the best survived Victory Road. He'd never intended to come here for _years_...

"Well?" the woman snapped, "Are you going to sit there or are you going to capture it?"

"Huh?" he jerked to look at her.

"Don't you think having a Steelix would be very useful?" she raised an eyebrow. "You defeated it, you and your Typhlosion. You can catch it, if you want. It's not going to be doing much else." Ed turned to his brother.

Al beamed, "You should, brother! I'll look after Typhlosion. Go, go!" he pushed Ed to his feet.

The blonde stumbled and scratched the back of his head with a nervous laugh. He glanced between the two before turning to the pokémon they'd knocked out. Steelix and Typhlosion would be a fantastic combination, and Steelix could do a lot of things that Typhlosion couldn't. People would definitely re-think battling him if they knew.

Well, there wouldn't be any harm in trying, right?

He pulled one of the empty pokéballs any trainer worth his name carried at all times, and threw it. The Steelix disappeared in a red light, and he bit his lip as the ball rocked back and forth.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the verdict. Was the Steelix too powerful for the pokéball?

No.

The pokéball clicked and went still. Ed remained frozen in surprise for all of a second and then whooped, jumping high in the air and laughing manically. A Steelix; he'd caught _a Steelix_. He hadn't even considered the possibility!

"Hn, well done," the strange woman smiled.

Ed's vision wavered, and he realised it hadn't been a good idea to move around like that when he'd been hit on the head several times. Without a sound he fainted.

---

**Old Lady's Home  
Route 27  
Afternoon**

"Thank you," Al broke the silence as he fingered the bandage on Ed's chest, "you've helped us out so much, I really don't know how we can repay you..." He turned around to look at the woman sipping a drink by her table, "We can pay you, or something-"

"With what money?" she interrupted, and Al realised she had a point. "People don't help to be repaid, they help because they want to or because they have an ulterior motive. You're lucky I'm the former."

He winced and turned back to his brother, feeling chastised. He ran a hand through the blonde hair, remembering the way he'd been unable to breathe after seeing Ed collapse. Of course, looking back it had been obvious Ed wouldn't last much longer, but at the time all he'd seen was his brother helpless on the ground. It had scared him, more than he would admit.

Fingering the plaster on his own cheek, he sat back and smiled as Teddiursa crept along the sheets and rest tiny paws on Ed's cheek.

"Teddiursa?" it looked at Al.

"He'll be fine," Al scooped up the baby and placed it back beside the sleeping Typhlosion at the end of the bed, "You know you were brilliant too, right?" he scratched its head. The last thing he'd expected was Teddiursa fighting Steelix, let alone actually paralysing it – but Ed had. He'd had faith, and it paid off.

He turned his attention to the sleeping, full evolved pokémon, and sighed at the sight of more bandages. It wouldn't be walking anytime soon, not until they got it to a pokémon centre.

"Ow... what hit me?"

"Brother!" he snapped back to Ed's face and saw the blonde wince. "Are you okay?" he hurried to his feet, willing to get whatever he needed. "Do you want water? Food? More bandages?" Ed held up a hand and he fell silent.

"I'm good, thanks, just help me up," he struggled to get into a sitting position. Al obliged, watching as his brother put a hand to his bandages. "What're these for? I'm not in enough pain to have broken a rib, though I'm lucky I didn't..."

"Not broken, but cracked," the brothers jumped as the woman approached, a warm drink in her hands, "You got battered quite a bit I'm afraid. Here," she handed him the drink.

"There's no milk, is there?" he stared at it suspiciously.

"Would it bother you if there was?"

"Yes," they chimed.

The woman sighed and shook her head, "Kids these days..." she didn't elaborate on the milk though, and instead brought up the problem that Al had been thinking about most of the time he waited for Ed to wake up. "Are you well enough to walk? I promised to show your brother the route to New Bark Town from here," Ed blinked and then brightened.

"Seriously?!" he finished his drink and then shoved Al aside in his haste to get up. "I'm fi-ine..." he winced as the world spun, but forced himself to stand up straight – and then winced again because he took too deep a breath in.

Al bit his lip, "We can always wait a little longer brother. There's no rush-"

"You're too kind, you know that?" Ed interrupted with a scoff. "Besides, even if you _don't _care, which I find very hard to see because you were so excited you didn't sleep at all the night before leaving and that can't possibly have gone-" he paused to breathe, "- we said we'd be there today, right? And if we don't turn up then Elm will call Granny and Winry and then _she'll _attack us with that stupid wrench of hers!"

They shuddered in memory. Winry's wrenches hurt a _lot_, although Ed had suffered them far more than Al ever did. The younger sighed, realising Ed wouldn't do otherwise, and nodded. The male was impossibly stubborn when he wanted to be.

"Okay," he turned to the woman expectantly. She glanced between them and shrugged.

"Not like it's my business if you hurt yourselves more," she shook her head and gestured for them to follow, "just don't expect any new bandages if you ruin them."

Ed recalled Typhlosion, causing Teddiursa to squeak from losing its support suddenly. Al snickered before picking up the baby, checking its leg to make sure it hadn't got worse. He ran a finger over it, but the only sign of pain the pokémon felt was a slight twitch. Either it had got used to the pain, or there _was _no pain, and he didn't know which one he'd prefer.

"Is it okay?" Ed finished dressing and peered over his shoulder. Al shrugged, and jumped when Ed bumped his shoulder with his own. "Well, we'll be seeing Elm soon. He's an expert in breeding or something, right? And this guy's a baby, so he'll be able to make it right as rain, no worried!"

He thought about it and then realised Ed had a point, "You're right," he beamed, confidence restored.

"Obviously," Ed smirked, and they started followed the woman out the house. Al couldn't resist looking to the area they'd recently been battling and winced at the mess left behind. He hoped no one would get hurt from all the rocks. Speaking of Steelix...

"Brother?" Ed made a noise of acknowledgement, and Al assumed he could continue. "How did you end up annoying that Steelix anyway?" His brother stiffened and then picked up the pace.

"Come on Al, we don't wanna get left behind!"

"... we'll get it from him eventually," Al promised Teddiursa.

He hurried to catch up with the other two and narrowly avoided crashing into them when they stopped suddenly. Hearing Ed curse, he peered around his brother to see what the problem was – and his heart sunk.

New Bark Town could be seen clearly, with the glass roof of Elm's Laboratory poking up through the trees. They really weren't far from it, but they'd been separated by a large gap of water. Now he understood when the woman had mentioned ability earlier – they had no way of crossing.

"It's like a test," the woman explained. "The distance is just far enough to discourage any kids, so the only people who come across are those who have the ability to do so – usually with a water pokémon. Of course, if they're not ready then they can't get further than the waterfalls, so even if some wayward kid does come here there's not too much risk they'll get hurt," she gestured to the lone waterfall and nearby caves.

"But, how do you get across if you don't have that?!" Ed snapped. "We don't have water pokémon and no way are we in a fit state to swim! Isn't there any other way?!"

"Not one that you can reach," she replied, just as annoyed.

"Damn..." Ed sat down and punched the ground. "This is pathetic, how can we be so close and still so far...?"

Al sat next to him, gazing out over the water. It ached, a lot, to be so close to getting his first pokémon but unable to actually get there. He searched the sides, trying to spot something, anything, that might give them a chance to get across – but there was nothing.

He exhaled and fell on his back, spreading his arms out. They didn't even need a bridge, they could probably manage it if they had rocks or something to jump off of.

... they needed rocks?

Leaping to his feet, he ran back to the battle grounds and searched. Surely some of the rocks had to be big enough to support their weight when crossing? The water shouldn't be too deep, so if they put rocks in and then walked on them, getting wet legs but otherwise remaining dry, it should work.

"Al! What're you doing?" Ed halted beside him with a grimace, a hand pressed to his side, "did you think of something?"

"Brother, what if we made stepping stones?" Al turned to him. "If we found some rocks big enough, we could probably jump our way across, right?"

"Hm..." his brother looked out over the rubble. "That's a good idea, but how are we gonna move the rocks from here to there? We're gonna need pretty big ones, and I doubt we can carry them – especially in our state," he pointed out. "Typhlosion might be able to help, if he weren't knocked around. I'm not going to make him work after that battle."

Al frowned. He hadn't thought about how to move the stones around. Ed only had Typhlosion, and he agreed that they shouldn't make the pokémon do that for...

... but they didn't only have Typhlosion.

"What about Steelix?" Ed jumped, and then let out a nervous laugh.

"I'd forgotten about it," he admitted, pulling off its pokéball. "But, I dunno whether we should or not. It took a direct Fire Blast, so it's probably still knackered from that, but even if it wasn't who's to say it'll obey me?"

"You won't know until you try," Al pointed out. Ed sighed, and then turned so they had a little room.

"If this goes wrong I'm blaming you," he muttered, before pressing the button. A moment later the Steelix they'd so recently been fighting appeared in front of them, just as tall and scary as Al remembered. It watched them for a moment before leaning back and basking in the sunlight.

As it did so, Al noticed the scuffs and hurts where it had once gleamed. It obviously hadn't recovered that much.

"Hey!" Ed waved, attracting the pokémon's attention back to him. The Steelix shifted and then bent back down to be eye-level with them. Al jumped away, heart pounding, and Teddiursa made a scared sound, but Ed didn't back down. He knew he had control and no longer feared what might happen. "How are you feeling? I'm sorry you got hit so bad, but you attacked me first so –"

The Steelix blew in his face. Ed yelped and scowled, "Okay so I'm sorry I kicked you too! But I didn't know you were you okay? I thought you were a rock and I was annoyed because I couldn't find Al!"

... Al could picture it easily, and it sounded exactly like Ed. He smacked his forehead.

Idiot.

"But, I found him! Thanks to you! You know, with the chasing, and the fighting, and..." Ed coughed when the Steelix kept staring. "So! I was wondering if you were up for helping us out. You don't have to, if you're still hurt from the battle, but it would really be a big help..."

The Steelix didn't look too pleased. Al bit his lip.

"Brother..."

"Al, why don't you start finding rocks we can use?" Ed never looked away. "I think this Steelix and I need to have a conversation, and it could get ugly." Al knew it had to be done, but that didn't make it any easier to leave his brother to face the pokémon alone. Just because a trainer caught a pokémon didn't mean it would instantly be tame, and it looked like Ed would have his work cut out for him.

But, if anyone could win over a Steelix, it would be his brother.

"Come on Teddiursa," he murmured, "you can help me, okay?" the baby pokémon beamed at the thought of being useful before bounding ahead, limping worse than before. Even if it didn't hurt, it had probably used it too much today.

Al glanced back at Ed, sighed and followed his pokémon. Silently, he wished him luck.

---

**Professor Elm's Laboratory  
New Bark Town  
08:54 PM**

Professor Samuel Oak had died.

He was dead and gone, his soul withered and curled up in a ball, his body dulled with the glaze of sleep and _oh, _for the love of all he held dear, why hadn't Elm run out of ideas disproving his theories yet? Did he truly have nothing better to do with his work?

"... work! What do you think? Pretty good, right?"

"Hm?" he jerked awake, and realising Elm had actually wanted an answer this time. He coughed and sat up, cleaning his spectacles in an attempt to buy more time. "Well, I think you've put a lot of work into this..."

"You're too kind," Elm laughed and waggled a finger, "but someone has to keep you on your toes right?" Oak frowned and fought back a sigh. He'd known the academic world was competitive when he'd first joined, even if he hadn't intended to become as well-known as he had wound up.

Deciding a change of subject was good, very good, he glanced at the clock and stared. How much time had passed?

"When did you say this trainer was coming?" he turned back to Elm, who also looked at the time.

"Oh! I didn't realise it was so late..." he hummed, "how strange, they should have been here several hours ago. Well, nothing for it," he turned around and headed over to the green telephone at the back of the lab. "I'll just call their house and find out what's been keeping them. Hopefully their family will know..." Oak followed, cursing his curiosity.

"Hopefully?" he repeated, watching as Elm flicked through a book of numbers, "and why do you have their number?" Oak liked keeping in contact with the new trainers, but he hadn't known Elm did the same.

The man was usually too scatterbrained to remember the different children.

Elm sat back in the chair, "Well, I'm friends with their grandmother for one," he admitted, finally finding the number on a separate piece of paper, "And another, they live with the Rockbells." Rockbells? Oak stroked his chin. He recognised that name, although he couldn't quite work out from where... "You'll probably know them. They're responsible for that new, improved pokégear. I usually give it out to new trainers, so I need to stay in contact with them for new supplies...

"Oh!" Oak's fist bopped his palm gently. "I know! Have you actually seen the pokégear? It's very good, reminds me of when I invented the pokédex!" he beamed. "Well, what are you waiting for? I want to speak to the creators behind it!"

His friend sighed and started dialling. Oak bounced on the balls of his feet and moved to stand behind the chair. After a moment, the screen flickered on to reveal an elderly woman with grey hair wrapped in a bun.

"Oh? Professor Elm..." she murmured, and then saw Oak, "And Professor Oak too. This is a surprise," her lips curled into a smile around a pipe, and she sat back in the chair. "I think I can tell why you're calling. Those boys haven't reached you yet, have they?" Oak blinked and shared a confused look with Elm. How had she known? "I've had this feeling for awhile... I'd hoped otherwise, of course, but..." she sighed.

"What? They haven't got there?!" a much younger voice shrieked, and thumping footsteps echoed. A blonde girl shoved her face next to the older woman's. "What do you mean they aren't there? Where else would they be?!"

"I wouldn't get too upset Winry," Elm laughed nervously, "They're growing boys, they probably got distracted along the way." Winry turned a dark red and, out of nowhere, a wrench appeared in her hand.

"That's no excuse! Ooo, when I get my hands on them they won't know what hit them! Urgh, the nerve of -" the older woman shoved her away, regaining control. The two professors could just about hear the girl continue ranting in the background. Oak couldn't stop an amused smile.

The woman shook her head, "I don't know what to tell you," she admitted, "they left yesterday morning, so they should be somewhere between here and there. I have no doubt they'll wind up eventually, though I apologise if it's a bother for the both of you..." Elm shook his head and Oak beamed, already liking this nice woman. Maybe he'd keep in touch when he got back to Pallet.

"It's all worth it to meet the creator of the famous Rockbell Gears," he smiled. "I'm very impressed."

"Likewise with your pokédex," she replied, "that is a masterpiece!"

Oak would have loved to talk further, but it wasn't meant to be. The remaining lab technician ran into the room, waving his arms wildly and obviously panicked about something.

"Professors, you won't believe it!" he exclaimed. "There's two boys trying to cross the water linking us to Route 27, without any water pokémon!" Oak frowned, but let Elm respond. This wasn't his domain, even though he had become known as a regular around the town.

"This isn't the first time-" Elm started.

"No, I mean, they're coming _from _Route 27! To us!" the technician beckoned them and then ran back out.

"... I take it this isn't normal," Oak commented. Elm sighed.

"We do, occasionally, get kids who try to get there, but no," he stood up. "I'm sorry, Pinako, we'll have to continue this later. If they turn up I'll make sure to inform you."

"I understand," Pinako smiled and then hung up.

The two esteemed professors made their way outside to where a crowd had gathered beside the water. It parted as the professors approached, revealing a scene Oak hadn't expected. The technician really hadn't been joking, two boys were trying to reach New Bark Town from Route 27...

... by rock hopping.

"Oh my..." Elm murmured.

Oak frowned, "Don't you two know it's dangerous?!" he called, regretting it when the taller one lost his balance and would have fallen had the other not saved him. As much as he wanted to be annoyed at these two children for putting themselves at risk, he had to admire their bravery. And, of course, the absolute mystery of how they'd ended up on _that _side anyway.

"Do you mind?!" the shorter one snapped. "We're a bit busy here!"

"I can see that," he replied, "It also looks like you're going to get wet very soon."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence old man!" the boy huffed, letting go of his friend. "Look, are you going to stand there staring or are you actually going to help us?!" Oak was tempted to just leave them be. It would teach them a lesson...

A rock splashed in the lake, thrown by the rude boy. "Al! Jump across when you're ready!"

"Okay!" the other did so, neatly making the jump and getting one step closer. His friend then jumped to the rock just vacated, and pulled out a pokéball. "Brother, I'll throw it. One of the people will let it out, right?" the boy sounded much nicer than his brother, and the pleading look he sent to the crowd managed to make more than one nod willingly.

For the first time, Oak realised the boy cradled a pokémon in one arm. No wonder he had so much trouble balancing.

"I hope you know what you're doing Alphonse!" Elm called, neatly catching the pokéball thrown to them. Oak jerked. Alphonse? 'Brother'? These were the two trainers they'd been expecting all day?

"I'd step back if I were you!" the rude one warned, a big grin on his face. "If you don't, don't say I didn't warn you!"

Heeding his advice, the two professors ushered everyone back before releasing the pokémon in the ball. Even Oak was surprised when a Steelix appeared, knocking all of them back and roaring fiercely. He hurried to his feet, wincing when his joints protested. Old age was a terrible thing...

"Steelix, mind making a bridge for us?" the owner of Steelix – and it amazed Oak someone so young had such a powerful pokémon – asked, and the pokémon obeyed, easily making a link between rock and bank. The two brothers cheered and ran along its back, avoiding the spikes, before jumping to the ground. The shorter patted the pokémon. "You did real good, okay? Now we'll get you all fixed up..."

"Alphonse, Edward, how did you wind up there when you were meant to come from Cherrygrove?" Elm asked. "Edward, how long have you had a Steelix?"

"... it's a very long story professor," Alphonse sighed, and then perked up. "Oh! But before, can we please use your machine? We've got really hurt pokémon!"

Oak scrutinised the two boys, "It looks like we've got really hurt children too," he focused on the white bandage just visible under a red cloak. "I'm getting the feeling this is going to be a long and entertaining story..."

Maybe it would worth the wait.

"What?" Edward snapped, pulling his cloak around him and hiding it from view. "Want us to apologi- oh..." for the first time, he seemed to realise who Oak was. Hearing his brother halt mid-sentence had Alphonse turning, and then he, too, realised what had jsut happened.

"Brother!" he thumped Edward on the head. "How could you be so rude to Professor Oak?!"

"It's not like I knew it was him!" the boy groaned. "Besides, he was rude first!"

"And that makes it okay?! You idiot!" Alphonse hit him again, and then Edward's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he crumpled. "Ah! Not again! I'm sorry, brother!"

... then again, maybe this would be more trouble than it was worth.

* * *

_A/N: I honestly thought this would be the last, haha. Instead, there's only gonna be a short epilogue. You know, finally seeing Al get his pokémon. What do you think he should get? Or should he even get one of the original three? Heh! Thanks to everyone who reviewed/alerted/favourited! I appreciate it a lot! I hope you liked this chapter!_


	4. Consequences

_The Very Uneventful Journey  
Part 4 // Epilogue

* * *

_

**Professor Elm's Laboratory  
New Bark Town  
10:05 PM**

Upon entering Elm's laboratory the brothers had to stop and wait until their eyes had adjusted before following the taller men. They'd grown used to the dark outside, after all, although it hadn't been too hard to see because of the lights of the town.

"Looks like they've fixed this place up pretty well," Ed peered around the room while Al laughed out loud at the memory. No one would forget the last time they'd been here anytime soon, where Ed - always choosing the most difficult choice - wound up destroying or ruining most of the lab. Although it had only taken several weeks to fix, they _still _paid the bills for it. They had no steady income, after all - but that would change soon.

Once Al had his pokémon, they'd go all over, becoming famous and earning thousands of money. Then, problem solved!

"Ah, Alphonse," Elm turned around, "I do hope you have better luck than your brother did. We can't afford another incident like that." Obviously he'd heard Ed.

"I'll do my best sir," Al's smile widened at Ed's dark look.

"Milk it up why don't you..." the golden-blonde sighed and crossed his arms, "when we're famous you'll be kicking yourselves for acting like this!" he directed this to Elm, only half joking, but to his dismay the professor didn't look worried.

"If you become famous, I'll be sure to tell them what you did as an inexperienced trainer. I'm sure they'd love to know," he countered. Ed pouted and fell silent, though he'd immediately deny his pouting if anyone called him on it. Perhaps knowing this, Al just shook his head and hurried to keep up with the professors.

They entered a room off the main lab, one they hadn't had need to go in before but did know of. Unlike the main lab, this one had been decorated with its audience in mind. Several pokémon posters covered the walls and two chairs were propped against the wall, near to the big green machine in the middle. Al's eyes lit up and he darted over, inspecting the machine like the techno freak he not-so-secretly was. Ed followed at a slower pace, still stewing over the comments.

"This looks different to the ones in the centres," his brother said, "why? Does it do different stuff?"

"Oh? Not many people notice," Elm praised. Ed rolled his eyes and glanced behind him. Professor Oak had remained a silent presence during the events, but when their eyes met Oak raised an eyebrow. Ed coloured and looked away. He hadn't been unconscious for long, however, he'd been unfortunate enough to have the professor bent over him when he jerked awake.

He rubbed his forehead. Oh, how he wished he could erase the incident from his memory. Of all the ways he could meet the esteemed Pokémon Professor, it had to be that way, didn't it?

"You see?" Elm questioned. Al nodded like he understood, which he probably did. _Boring._

Ed yawned loudly, drawing attention to himself, and started to stretch before wincing when his ribs flared up. Before they could act on their concerned looks, he waved them away and addressed the most important thing to him at that moment.

"Can we get our pokémon healed now?"

"Oh! Of course, I'm sorry," the professor adjusted his glasses, "who would like to go first?"

"Brother?" Al offered, but Ed shook his head. The sooner Al got Teddiursa checked out, the sooner he could head out and choose his first pokémon. Ed's two would take too long. "If you're sure..."

His brother placed Teddiursa in the centre of the table and stepped back. It tried to follow him, but a shake of the head left it in place and staring curiously at the machine. Ed smirked at its confusion while Elm moved and flipped a switch, making the two brothers jump when the machine started up with a bang. The Teddiursa squeaked, terrified, and sat in a trembling ball.

Al glanced worriedly at Elm, "it doesn't hurt, right? She'll be fine?"

"Of course," Elm nodded and they watched the scanner bar move back and forth. A TV off to the side switched on, revealing a blurry shape. After a moment, Ed realised it was the Teddiursa. Oak moved to stand in front of it. "What do you see, Professor?"

Oak hummed, "See here?" he pointed to a black line over an imitation of the paw. "This shouldn't be here. It's not a fracture, or a break... how strange..." he turned to Al, "was it ever in pain?"

"When I first found her, yeah," Al nodded, "but not today. She's just been limping."

The machine made a noise and then spat out several sheets of paper before powering itself down. The confused looks between the professors suggested this shouldn't happen. Missing this, Al scooped up the trembling pokémon and set about reassuring it, while Elm and Oak read through the notes. Curious, Ed peered over Oak's arm to read. He understood most of the words, but didn't understand what it meant for the baby.

"You understand this?" Oak asked, sounding dubious.

"Mhm," Ed replied, distracting by the whirring of his brain. Ignorant to the surprised look he turned to the picture, running over what he'd read and trying to make sense of what he saw. Tuning everyone else out proved useful for concentrating. He glanced at the line which had the adults in a debate, and reached out to trace it. He followed the leg to the actual joint, and then glanced over the rest of body. And blinked.

The joint on the injured leg didn't look the same to the rest of the joints. It looked... twisted, almost. Did that explain what the machine said?

Frowning, he moved back to the Teddiursa and plucked it from Al. Ignoring the cry of protest, Ed turned it on its side and studied the injured leg. He felt the paw, and an involuntary twitch - but no noise - told him he'd hit the area in question. Surprised, he felt his way up the rest of the leg and pressed lightly.

Only when he'd hit the joint did the pokémon squeak, finally reacting to the pain. Al snatched his pokémon back with a frown.

"Be careful, she's just a baby!" his brother snapped, "Would you like it if someone went around poking your injuries?"

"If it meant finding out what was wrong, yeah," Ed countered, "there's something wrong with the joint. Its screwed up the nerves so it can't feel anything, look." He recaptured the baby and put it on top of the machine. Tugging Al until they both bent over, he pointed at the joint. On close inspection, a lump could be seen. "See? That's what's hurting it. It's like a lame leg or something..."

"... which would explain why it's not feeling pain from the messed up paw," Al put the pieces together, "I had my hand on its body that night. Maybe I hit the sore spot at the same time I touched the paw!"

Footsteps behind them disturbed their chatter. Ed twisted, realising the two professors had been listening, and met their surprised looks defiantly, while Al looked down as if ashamed. But, to their surprise, Elm just smiled and looked at the leg himself before turning to Oak and nodding. Oak smiled, warm eyes twinkling down at the two children, and just like that he grew younger.

His wrinkles, it seemed, came from a lifetime of smiles.

"I'm impressed," he praised, "not many would think like that. How old are you two again?"

"I'm thirteen, and brother's fourteen!" Al beamed, tugging Ed to his feet.

Oak's eyebrows rose, "Oh? You're the younger? But you're so much taller-"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE COULDN'T REACH THE SOLE OF YOUR SHOE YOU -" Al clamped a hand over Ed's mouth and gave a weak smile. Grinning, Elm moved to stand next to Oak and lent against him.

"He's very sensitive about his height," he whispered, "so be sure to avoid it, okay?" Wide eyed, Oak could only nod and clear his throat. Well, he had seen more surprising things.

"As I was saying, very impressive..." he glanced down. "You're absolutely right. The problem's with the joint itself. The lack of feeling is rather worrying, but I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of this by tomorrow morning. Would you be willing to let us keep an eye on her until then?" Al bit his lip and looked at the pokémon in his arms.

Even if they hadn't been together long, they had obviously become very attached to each other. Ed sighed. He didn't mind the wait, not if it was necessary, but he still really wanted to get his pokémon healed.

"Okay," Al nodded, "if it'll help..."

"And in the mean time, you can choose and get to know your starter pokémon," Elm stepped in to soften the blow. "My assistant's been setting them up while we're in here, so whenever you're ready..." his brother brightened in excitement.

"Okay!" he darted to the door. Ed blinked and then glanced back at the machine, remembering his own pokémon. He wanted them healed... but he didn't want to stop Al from choosing. That was a very important occasion, after all. He exhaled, resigning himself to following and waiting just a bit longer, but it turned out he didn't have to.

Oak stepped forward, "I'll remain here and make sure young Edward's pokémon are healed too, then," he stated. Al gasped, realising he'd forgotten. He turned back, no doubt to offer to wait, so Ed struck pre-emptively.

"Go and choose Al," he nodded, "we'll be out soon." When his brother started to protest, he scowled and shoved the boy out the room, before slamming the door shut and leaning against it. "And don't come back until you've chosen!" he yelled, before turning back to the professors with a triumphant look. Elm laughed and left the room, leaving Ed and Oak alone. He shifted in the awkward silence, growing self-conscious when he realised Oak watched him with an amused smile. "What?!"

"You care for him a lot, don't you?" Oak murmured.

Ed crossed his arms and avoided his gaze, "He's my brother," the _duh _was heard, even if not said.

Not wanting Oak to pry any further into _why _he felt so devoted to Al, he moved to the machine and pulled off his first pokéball. In a flash his Typhlosion appeared, awake and aware for the first time since... ever. Ed blinked. Something was definitely wrong then.

"Oh, you have a Typhlosion too?" Oak studied the pokémon, "You're full of surprises, aren't you?"

"Get used to it," he grumbled, before reaching out to stroke his pokemon's head, "Hey, you're gonna be healed real soon, okay? Don't worry, you'll be sleeping again in no time," he tapped its nose. The pokémon huffed at him, but relaxed and Ed smiled, before casting a look at Oak. "Can we start now?"

"If you wish," Oak nodded, and flipped the switch, "we'll be here awhile, so you might as well make yourself comfortable..."

And so they settled in to wait.

---

Big, wide, sparkling eyes stared at him from three directions.

Al hadn't felt this torn since he'd had to choose between keeping Nina, his stuffed dog, and Martel, his stuffed snake. They'd both been as battered as each other from a lifetime of playing, being chewed on and dragged through the countryside, but his mother had been firm about one of them going and made him to choose. Of course, he hadn't been able to, and had forced Ed to do so for him. He'd spent the rest of the night bawling his eyes out, until Ed gave him Flame, his stuffed dragon.

But he couldn't ask for Ed's help now, and truthfully didn't want to - he just wanted a sign on which to choose. He wanted something that said 'THIS ONE' in big letters.

He couldn't see any sign like this when looking at the three pokémon.

Sighing, he moved to the one on the right, deciding to go through them one by one. Behind him Elm perked up, and the assistant crept closer.

"You want Chikorita, the grass pokémon?" the professor asked.

Al shrugged, "give me a few minutes..." He didn't want to choose until he'd met all three for himself. He held out a hand to the green pokémon and, to his surprise, it bounded forward eagerly. Two tiny hooves rest on his hand and then the leaf on its head swirled. He smiled when he smelt something nice.

"Ah, sweet scent, how nice," Elm sighed, "I think she's trying to impress you."

Colouring, Al gave it one last stroke on then moved on to the next. How peachy for him; not only did he have trouble choosing, but the pokémon he could choose _wanted_ to be with him. How could he disappoint them?

Totodile, the water pokémon, watched him, but it felt like a different gaze to the others. Not pleading, just judging. Al put on a smile, trying to hide his nerves, and reached out, watching as its gaze moved to his hand. He moved closer and then, suddenly, it struck – biting him sharply.

"Ow!" he winced and pulled back his throbbing hand. That was the last time he'd ignore his instincts.

"Oh, I was hoping it wouldn't do that! Are you okay?!" the assistant shifted from one foot to the other, hands clenching and unclenching. Al nodded as he sucked on the broken skin, disliking the metallic taste. The assistant sighed and looked back at the Totodile, which had turned its back on them. "This guy's been a menace ever since we got him. No matter what he's always grumpy, and always picks fights with anyone brave enough to go near him."

Really? It sounded a lot like someone he knew... Al shook his head and decided to skip over Totodile for now.

He turned to the last of the trio, Cyndaquil. Like Chikorita, this one didn't hesitate to come to him, making sweet noises and humming happily as it rubbed against his palm. His heart strings tugged and Al felt torn between it and the Chikorita. Why did they have to be so cute? Didn't they know he was a sucker for cuteness?

"Chika?" the Chikorita crossed the table towards Cyndaquil, barging past Totodile. The water pokémon flailed and tipped over the edge, only a tiny clawed paw gripping the edge stopping it from a painful tumble to the ground. Al moved to help it, but got distracted when the Chikorita stood in front of the fire pokémon and stomped a hoof. "Chika chika! _Chika!_" It had sensed its competition.

"Cynda?" the Cyndaquil tilted its head to the side, obviously not understanding. This frustrated the Chikorita even more.

"Toto," the Totodile rasped, still kicking, and Al reached under its arms and picked it up.

"Hey, it's okay," he smiled when the Totodile stared at him, "I've got you." He put it back on the table before looking at the arguing pokémon. Cyndaquil had sat back on its two legs, finally realising it was being challenged about something.

Elm moved to the side of the table. He looked worried, perhaps also sensing how easily this could go wrong.

"Chika!" the Chikorita darted forward and head butted the Cyndaquil. It wailed and rolled across the table, but narrowly avoided falling off the edge. The Chikorita started to strut, feeling it had won, and turned to look back at Al. In that moment Cyndaquil got back up and flames appeared on its back. Al's eyes widened, but before he could warn the pokémon Cyndaquil had already used Ember.

"Chika..." the Chikorita was blown off the table. It hit the ground and rolled near the professor's feet.

"Now that's enough," he stated, bending down to pick it up, but the Chikorita evaded his grip. Two long vines appeared out of the small dots on its chest, shooting towards the table and pulling at the leg. After a few tugs, the table was overturned.

The two pokémon on top went flying. Al managed to catch the Totodile, being the closest to it, but the Cyndaquil hit the floor before the assistant could grab it.

"Totodile!" Angered, the water pokémon struggled in his grip. It wanted to get back at Chikorita! "Totototodile!" it kept kicking, but Al held on. Realising this wasn't working, it turned and bit his arm. Al yelped, relaxing his grip, and then the Totodile got free, darting across the ground and shooting a jet of water at the Chikorita. It avoided it and flicked its leaf.

"Chika," it said, tensing into a battle position, and backed up so it could see both Cyndaquil and Totodile. It didn't show any fear.

"Cynda-QUIL!" a blast of fire shot across the room. Chikorita dodged, but Cyndaquil kept going and just adjusted its aim. It finally hit Chikorita, but it meant bad news for the rest of the people in Elm's lab.

"Not again!" the assistant moaned at the sight of burning papers and disappeared to find an extinguisher. Elm blew, flapped, fanned the flames with his hands, but only caused the fire to spread. A burnt smell wafted through the lab, and smoke. The smoke got thicker and thicker.

Of course, Al couldn't do anything about this - he had to deal with the three arguing pokémon.

Chikorita got back to its feet and used Vine Whip on Cyndaquil. Totodile chose this moment to strike, but in its eagerness doused Cyndaquil instead. Damp and injured, the Cyndaquil flipped and fought them both. Suddenly, what started off as an alliance between fire and water turned into a clash between all three.

Al dashed from small pokémon to pokémon, trying to stop them. "Stop!" he yelled, hearing the assistant and professor trying frantically to put out the fires. As soon as they did, however, one of Cyndaquil's attacks would reignite it. There _was_ a 50% chance that Totodile's water would help put it out, though, making their job slightly easier.

Just as Al debated giving up, the door to the small room opened and Oak and Ed poked their heads around the frame. Typhlosion mimicked them a second later, looking as good as new.

"Not again!" Ed yelped, spotting the quarreling pokémon. "I thought this time was gonna be different Al!" he darted into the room.

Al hurried to his side, wailing "I'm sorry! I couldn't choose and they wound up arguing over that and then Totodile got caught in the crossfire and got angry and-"

"Professor, help us with the fires!" the assistant coughed, his hands red raw. Totodile chose that moment to use Water Gun, but instead of hitting Cyndaquil, hit Professor Oak instead. He sqwarked, stumbling back and bashing against the doorframe, before shaking it off and hurrying to help the other adults. This time, though, Al didn't worry - with Ed and Typhlosion, it would be quick work to get the pokémon.

"Come on, before this lab gets destroyed again!" Ed turned to Typhlosion. "Think you can handle grabbing the Cyndaquil if we take the other two?" The fully evolved form of Cyndaquil huffed, as if offended at the slightest doubt he _couldn't_, and then bounded to where the other fire pokémon had perched on top of a counter.

"I'll get Totodile," Al said, mostly because it was the nearest one at that moment. Besides, he'd already got bitten before by it, so what difference would a few more bites make? Ed nodded and they split to get their respective choices.

With the added threat of being captured by people, the battles slowed down as the pokémon had to avoid being captured. This allowed the professors to get everything under control on their end, but proved to make it tougher for the brothers and Typhlosion. With Ed struggling from his sore ribs and Totodile being super fast, their antics (such as suddenly changing direction) often had the two boys crashing into each other. They'd always been so concentrated on the pokémon they wouldn't realise until it was too late to avoid hitting each other.

After the fourth time this happened, Ed snapped.

"Everyone hold tight to something! Typhlosion, use earthquake!"

Al managed to grab hold of the nearest table just in time. The ground shook from Typhlosion's attack, and all three pokémon stumbled and hit the ground. Both Chikorita and Totodile tried to get up, but kept falling down. Cyndaquil appeared the least affected, unsurprisingly.

The instant the earthquake stopped Al grabbed the unsuspecting Totodile and held it tight. Ed did the same with Chikorita, and after a moment Typhlosion finally caught Cyndaquil in its mouth.

Sharp teeth dug into Al's arms. He winced but didn't loosen his grip. Hearing his brother yelp, he twisted just in time to see Ed slapped in the face by Vine Whip. They left painful-looking welts across his cheeks, until Ed grabbed hold of the vines with one hand and held them tight. Chikorita struggled, but that seemed to be enough to hold it in place long enough for the professors to find the pokéballs.

"Just a moment," Elm told them, holding two in one hand. His assistant had the third. In a dull red light the three pokémon returned to their balls...

... and the disaster was over.

"Owowowow..." Ed hissed, resting a hand against a nasty welt on his cheek. Al hurried over, wincing from the sharp, stinging in his arm. The bites hadn't been deep but, for something so shallow, they sure hurt a _lot_. "Are you okay Al?"

"Yeah..." Al cradled his left arm closest to his chest, "what about you?"

"I've been better."

Footsteps approached. They turned to meet the frazzled, singed assistant, who held out a pot of cream. Ed took it with a nod, and started to unscrew the lid.

Then, the world exploded.

**A few minutes before...**

Terrified of the big, bad noises, the forgotten Teddiursa had hidden under the desk she'd been left on.

She'd wondered where her beloved human had gone, the one who had saved her, and feared she'd been abandoned again. It hadn't been back since it had left the room, did that mean it was never going to come back? But, the other human had remained, and they both seemed pretty close. Surely her human wouldn't abandon its friend?

When the shouting started she gave up being afraid and decided she wanted her human and wanted it _now_.

Scurrying out from her hiding place, she made her way to the door but, on the way, spotted a discarded pokéball. Recognising it as a curious thing, remembering the battle earlier, she trotted over and inspected it. Batting it around sent it rolling across the floor, and pleased, she followed it and kept knocking it around.

Until she hit it too hard and it spun, crashing into the wall. In the process, the white button on it got pressed.

And the Steelix appeared.

---

**New Bark Town  
07:34 AM**

They made a sorry sight.

Professor Oak had his arm in a sling, a strained shoulder from an incident between Elm and falling rubble, while Professor Elm's head had been bandaged and a plaster stuck to his broken nose. The assistant's hands had been bandaged and his legs looked sticky from cream, and Ed - with plasters littering his face - kept breathing too deeply and agitating his wounded ribs. Al, the most well off with sore arms and a black eye, could only wallow.

"I'm sorry," he broke the silence.

Behind them, dawn's light revealed the true damage that Ed's huge Steelix had done.

Unable to fit inside the small medic room, it's monstrous size had demolished the surrounding walls and the glass roof. Professor Elm's prestigous, esteemed laboratory, once looking elegant, now looked like a rubbish dump.

And it was their fault.

This was _way _worse than Ed's incident; at least then, they had only destroyed the inside. This time, not even a building remained!

"Just... just don't ever get another starter pokémon again," Elm spoke, looking like he was still in shock. His voice sounded nasally, and would for a time to come, "in fact, don't come back at all. We'll stick to phone calls, shall we?"

"Okay," the brothers mumbled, stung but knowing they deserved that.

"Well, I can safely say that I'm not going to be inviting you back to Pallet," Oak exhaled, "still it made a memorable experience, right?" He tried to find the bright side. Al just wanted the earth to suck him in. 'Memorable' was one way to describe it.

"We'll start paying for it as soon as we get money," Ed promised. Al had a feeling they'd be paying for several years to come. The thought was rather depressing. "And, if you ever need a favour, you can call us. A million times. We'll be, like, your personal slaves or something. You want us to go somewhere? We'll go there! You need us to find a pokémon? We'll do that too!"

The assistant snorted, but Oak gave the thought merit.

"Well," he started, "I know it was Professor Elm's lab that was destroyed, but I think you owe me a few favours for these injuries," he eyed them, "I often get requests from the League asking me to do certain things. In my old age, it's getting harder to do them. You two, young, lots of free time, would surely be able to do them though, right?" Although phrased like a question, they heard the order loud and clear.

"Uh-huh, we'll do that! Tell us where you want us or what to look for and we'll do it!" Al promised. "We won't let you down sir!"

"In that case you'll want these," Oak pulled out two pokédexs. Al and Ed's eyes widened at the sight of the precious items. Only special trainers got them! "Record every pokémon you come across. Is there anything else, Professor?" he turned to Elm after handing over the gadgets. The brothers held them like they were the most important thing in the world - which, they likely would become, in their journey.

"I think... making them do your orders is bad enough," Elm admitted, causing Al's stomach flip-flop. Just what would they have to do? "I don't mind so long as you eventually pay us back. I'll probably have errands for you to run, delivered, of course, by phone."

A silence fell, and Al shifted position. The pokéball on his waist shifted with him and he grimaced, not used to the way it rolled over his hip. He supposed he'd just get used to it - that, or find a rucksack to put it in. Ed hadn't complained about it though, so he wouldn't either. In his arms, the guilty Teddiursa remained quiet and still. It knew it had done something bad, although it didn't quite understand what or why.

"Alphonse, about your Teddiursa," Elm hesitated, "I apologise. We never were able to find out the problem, were we? Well..." he sighed and glanced over his shoulder, "I think we'll be out of action for a very long time. All I can tell you now is to go to Cianwood City, across the sea. There's a brilliant pharmacist who might be able to help."

In the brief moment they'd had alone, Ed had mentioned to Al Oak's theory on the baby pokémon. Due to the way it was, it likely was a deformity from birth, from when it hatched from the egg. It would explain why the mother, usually so protective, had left it behind. There _would _be no way to make it better.

Al refused to accept that, though, and Ed hadn't questioned. He'd just nodded, knowing it went without saying he'd come too.

"Okay, we'll head there," Ed nodded, and Al's heart swelled in gratitude. "We'll check in at each centre we come across, just in case you need us."

"Very well," Oak nodded, "I look forward to hearing from you."

They recognised the dismissal.

After saying their goodbyes, they began the short trek back to Cherrygrove. Even when the town was out of sight Al looked back over his shoulder, wishing he had stayed and helped. However, their offer had promptly been refused, and with no other options they'd chosen to move on.

He felt the burn of tears in his eyes. Scrubbing at them angrily, he turned to his brother, who didn't look close to crying but did look rather guilt-ridden. Well, it had been _his _Steelix, after all.

"Hey, Al..." Ed murmured, after awhile of walking together silently, "you gonna let him out?"

"Oh!" Al blinked and then picked up the pokéball. Excitement bubbled over his guilt, realising inside was his _very first pokémon_.

He pressed the white button, and his new pokémon appeared in a flash of light. It bounded ahead of them, inspecting every nook and cranny, and Al chased after it, unwilling to let it get out of sight. Ed, unwilling to let Al out of sight, struggled to keep up.

Al caught up with his pokémon just as it ran through a field, disturbing a den of sentrets. He groaned, "Totodile!"

"Toto!" it grinned at him before chasing the sentrets. A sense of dread filled Al, realising what he'd let himself into by choosing the destructive pokémon. What had he been thinking? Well...

... sometimes, he liked to choose the most difficult choice, too.

* * *

_And that's that! Finale, endeth, syonara, goodbye, zai jian! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed and said such nice, encouraging things. It means a lot! And to all those who alerted/favourites. I love you aaaaall. I'm thinking of doing a few one-shots later on in this series, or a sequel to this. Would anyone be interested if I did so? _

_Thanks for reading!_

_- Serendipity  
_


End file.
